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COPYRIGHT DEPOSE 




J. PRESSLEY BARRETT 



Forty Years on the Firing Line 

or 

Scenes, Incidents, and Experiences Along 
the Way of a Soldier of the Cross 



" Who teas so happy yet, 
As never had some cross? " 



By Rev. J. Pressley Barrett, D. D. 

Author of if Facing the Truth/' "Fruit Bearing Truths/' "Centennial 

of Religious Journalism/' "Modern Light Bearers/' 

"Camping Along the Master's Trail." 



THE CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 
DAYTON, OHIO 



-"2)4- ^ 



COPYRIGHT, 1014. BY 

tup: christian publishing association 

DAYTON. OHIO 



SEP 16 1914 



©CI.A380405 



A CORDIAL HANDSHAKE 

Come in, Friend, I am glad to greei you on my 

threshold, but be seated just a moment, till I may I h row- 
open the door and give you an entrance to the full 
enjoyment of all that is within. "It is all yours," as 
our Japanese friends would say. Make the best of 
anything you find and appropriate it to your own use 
unhesitatingly. 

The book I am now introducing to you is not an 
autobiography. Indeed, it is not a biography at all. 
It is rather a sort of human kaleidoscope, presenting at 
every turn in the instrument word-pictures of scenes, 
incidents, and experiences found along the battle- 
scarred pathway of a soldier of the Cross, the atmos- 
phere of which seems ladened with the shouts of 
victory in the Master's name. 

I have written primarily, not for the scholar, for 
he can take care of himself, but for the common people 
who in simplicity love truth and fear God and feel 
their need of edification in the way of the earthly life 
as a preparation for the life which is to come. The 
things of which you will read herein are not imaginary, 
not artificial, but come to us from real life. They have 
been gathered by "one w^ho was there" — a personal 
witness, w^ho was oftener than otherwise a participant. 
In these pages you w 7 ill get pictures, word-pictures, of 
the "ups and downs" of every-day struggle. It is not 
the history of a man, nor of a place, nor of a battle, nor 
of a defeat, nor yet of victory, but you will find some 



phases of all these in this kaleidoscopic combination, 
all throwing side-lights on the fire-trail of the Christian 
life. 

These battles were fought not in a day, nor a week, 
nor a month, nor yet in a year, but they come to us 
from the firing-line of forty years of actual service in 
the lights and shadows of Christian effort. I trust they 
may awaken a deep soul-thirst for the richer truths of 
the Word and for the fuller and constraining love of 
Christ. Christian warfare calls for men and women at 
their best. The true soldier of the Cross is no coward 
— he knows nothing of retreat. His mission must be 
accomplished — his fellows must be brought into touch 
with the life and light of Christ, and through Him into 
fellowship with God. 

If the reader shall become a sharer in the blessings 
of which the writer has been made a partaker, in pass- 
ing this way, then this book will not have been written 
and published in vain, and the reward will be ample! 

The usefulness of this book is not dependent upon 
the literary ability of the author, but upon the loving 
favor of the Lord in making use of it to help along the 
way the weary pilgrim. These fragments of life among 
the humble have been gathered up in His name and for 
His glory, in the help they may bring to as many as may 
read. As you go along the way of the lights and 
shadows presented, keep your eyes open and your ears 
unstopped, on the alert to find heart-treasure for the 
enrichment of the life unto which all Christians are 
called for service. As you go and as you pray, 
remember — 

"He sendeth sun, He sendeth shower — 
Alike they're needful for the tiower; 
And joys and tears alike are sent 
To give the soul fit nourishment." 



I should be glad to eliminate the personal pronoun 
I, were it possible to do so without making these 
sketches stilted and awkward by trying to substitute 
the third person. In doing so I gain freedom of 
expression and escape the formality of constraint. For- 
get the writer, but get what is written, and may your 
life be the brighter, happier, and the more useful 
because we have met in these pages and held sweet 
communion between ourselves and with the Master. 

J. P. B. 

Dayton, Ohio, September 1, 191 4. 



OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 



To the front, away in the Gospel war, 
With the cross of Christ going on before- 
Mid the fire and smoke, and the cannon's roar. 
We'll shoulder to shoulder stand. 

Down the battle line pass the word along. 
Let your faith be firm and courage strong ; 
Though the foe be fierce and the fight be long. 
Well shoulder to shoulder stand. 

Out and out for God and holiness. 
We will keep in rank and the battle press; 
With the gospel armor or righteousness 
Well shoulder to shoulder stand. 

Till in every land is our flag unfurled. 
Till the enemy from his throne is hurled, 
Preaching full salvation to all the world, 
Well shoulder to shoulder stand. 

Chorus: 

We are to-day on the firing line, 

For truth and right we will boldly fight ; 

We are out to-day on the firing line, 

A victorious, loyal band; 

See our banners icave, hear our bugles blow; 

In unbroken line on to victory go. 

And shoulder to shoulder stand. 

— Mrs. C. H. Morris. 



THIS BOOK CONTAINS: 

A Cordial Handshake 

I. My First Religious Impression 13 

II. How I Missed Being a Printer 15 

III. Joining the Biblical Class.' IT 

IV. The First Hope of Usefulness 18 

V. Caught in a Close Place 22 

YI. Brother Joseph's Dbeam 24 

VII. At Conference in 1870 25 

VIII. A Very Great Promise 28 

IX. My First Week From Home at School. ... 29 

X. The Mistake My Teacher Made 31 

XI. My First Sermon 34 

XII. How the Doctor Learned His Lesson 36 

XIII. The Misuse of a Beautiful Thought 38 

XIV. Hunting a Slight 40 

XV. Calls to the Deeper Spiritual Life 41 

XVI. Too Late. 45 

XVII. A Key That Unlocks a Door of Mystery 47 

XVIII. A Bright, Capable Young Man, But — A 

Failure 50 

XIX. How An Estrangement Was Healed 52 

XX. A Battle With Tobacco 56 

XXI. The Missionary Spirit Rebuked 58 

XXII. Too Busy to Pray and What Followed. .. 61 

XXIII. A Modern Miracle 63 

XXIV. Her Last Words on Earth 65 

XXV. Big Pay With Compound Interest 67 

XXVI. My Pilot and My Burden-Bearer 69 

XXVII. "And I Must Die To-night" 73 

XXVIII. The Power of a Godly Life Over the Llps 

of the Wicked 76 

XXIX. How One Man Cheated Another and Got 

Caught in the Bargain 78 

XXX. The Heroine of Isle of Wight 79 

XXXI. A Fine Record in Winning Men to Christ 81 

XXXII. Why Tom Was Not Converted 83 



XXXIII. 

XXXIY. 

XXXV. 

XXXYI. 

XXXVII. 

XXXVIII. 

XXXIX. 

XL. 

XLI. 

XLII. 

XLIII. 

XLIV. 

XLV. 

XLvr. 

XLVII. 
XLVIII. 

XLIX. 
L. 

LI. 

LII. 

LIII. 

LIV. 

LV. 

LVI. 

LVII. 

LVII'I. 

LVIX. 

LX. 

LXT. 

LXII. 

LXIII. 

LXIV. 

LXV. 

LXVI. 
LXVII. 



Why Such a High Price? 86 

My First Real Battle as a Pastor 88 

How I Learned an Important Lesson .... 93 

Just Getting His Eyes Open 97 

When I Became a Prophet 99 

The Falling Lamp 101 

Strangely Kept From Harm 102 

The Unused Talent 108 

Who Tells the Truth? 109 

How a Sick Patient Taught His Physician 

a Lesson Ill 

Rebuking Vulgarity and Profanity 112 

Condemned and Burned 116 

Scared Out of My Wits 118 

Sorely Tempted 125 

Living in a Beautiful House 12S 

The Man Who Started to Heaven But Was 

Called Back 131 

A Desire to "Fight" 134 

A Strange Law and What It Means 137 

Mistaken For a Catholic Priest 139 

A Trying Situation 141 

Bidding Good-bye to the Old Home 143 

How the Spirit Shows Us Our Sins 147 

Unquestioned Loyalty and the Little 

Black I >og 151 

\\ Unmatched Scene in the Tar-Heel 

State 152 

If I Could Only Know 154 

The Church Against Which the Gates of 

Hell Siiaij, Not Prevaii 155 

Why the Deacon Could Not Live It 157 

A Singular Dbeam 159 

It Was Too Late — Never Saw Him Again.. 161 

A Dying Man's Lament 164 

"Then I Will Be Your Servant Forever." 160 

A Brazen Hypocrite 169 

Clearing Up a Difficult Passage of Scrip- 
ture 171 

Fooled by the Devil 175 

Interesting Incidents in the Great Re- 
vival at Norfolk, Va 179 



LXVIII. 

LXIX. 

LXX. 

LXXI. 

LXXIJ. 

LXXIII. 

LXXIY. 
LXXV. 

LXXVI. 

LXXVII. 

LXXVIII. 

LXXIX. 



LXXX. 

LXXXI. 

LXXXII. 

LXXXIII. 

LXXXIV. 

LXXXV. 
LXXXVI. 

LXXXVII. 

LXXXVIII. 

LXXXIX. 

XC. 

XCI. 

XCII. 

XCIII. 

XCIV. 

xcv. 

XCVI. 

XCVII. 

XCVIII. 

XOIX. 

c. 

CI. 



Death-bed Kepkntanck is I 

The Pressure of an Unseen Presence is? 

A Most Touching Scene L89 

Faces to the Light L90 

peptized for the dead what does \t 

Mean? 192 

A Plea Before the Lord 194 

It Was a Great Day 197 

Quicker Than the W t ireless 20 1 

The Assembly of Tongues 202 

Just One Morning Without Prayer 205 

The Worthlessness of a Broken Vessel. . 200 
How the Money-making Church Supper 
Question Was Settled in the Memo- 
rial Christian Temple 212 

A Significant Lesson in Divine Healing. . 210 

The Crumplers 219 

A Surrender and What It Meant 221 

A Musicless Pipe Organ 223 

The Mighty Hand Underneath the Ship 

— A Strange Sight 225 

Are You Building Your House? 229 

"After I Make Fifty Thousand Dollars, 

Then—." 231 

A Marvelous Display in Midnight Dark- 
ness 236 

A Brave Friend of the Bible 239 

A Heroic Message 241 

Profoundly Impressed 246 

Who Struck Me in the Mouth ? 248 

Afraid to Surrender to Jesus 251 

At the Boiling Point 253 

Capt. Worse, or the Man for Whom Three 

Miracles Were Worked 256 

A Very Trying Experience 263 

As the Voice of Many Waters 266 

I Have Long Been Asking, Why ? 269 

Correcting the Pastor 270 

What Kind of a Christian Am I ? 272 

A Strange Saying 276 

Why Thomas Jefferson Was Called an 

Infidel .-....' 279 



CI I. How Two Runaway Boys Were Sent Back 

Home 281 

CIII. A Stinging Question and the Answer. . . . 283 
CIV. A Scene Over Which the Angels Might 

Rejoice 2S4 

CY. A Small Stream Which Widened and 

Deepened as It Flowed . . 286 

CVI. An Immediate Answer to Prayer 289 

CVII. How a Little Pluck Did the Work 291 

CVIII. A Striking Theory of the Creation 294 

CIX. How the Mosf Unexpected Came to Pass. . 298 

CX. When I Did Not Know Myself 303 

CXI. Facing a Difficult Situation 303 

( 5XII. "Holding Their Own." 306 

CXIII. My Re-election as Editor in 1910 310 

( 5XIV. A Theological Quicksand 312 

( 5XV. A Portrayal of a Misspent Life 315 

CXVI. William Wubms — A Very Singular Inci- 
dent 318 

CXVII. The Father Who Took His Daughter's 

Place in Death 320 

CX VI II. A Boiling Spring in the Middle of a 

Crowded Street 322 

('XIX. Beautiful Red Apples— A Testimony 320 

CXX. A Graceful Daughter of the King 328 

CXXI, A Puzzling Question 332 

CXXII. A Dream Which Greatly Influenced My 

Life 33G 

CXXIII. Encaged, oh Married, Which? 339 

CXXIV. The Rusty Family Hinge 340 

CXXV. A Mingle-mangle Religion 343 

CXXVL The Unveiling of Jesus Christ 34G 




ILLUSTRATIONS 

A 

Antioch Church 42 

Atkinson, J. 117 

\ 

B 

Beale, E. W 02 

Board of Commissioners 120 

Butler, H. H: 130 

Blind Leading the Blind, The 175 

Bishop, J. G 199 

Barrett, Joseph A 242 

Barrett, David P 244 

Barry, J. E 285 

C 

Clements, Thos. J 18 

Craig, Austin 72 

Coe, I. H 285 

Christian's Time of Day, The 352 

D 

Duck, I. W 17 

Dog That Gnaws a Bone, The 274 

E 
Eley, A. M. 160 

F 

Fence, The Broken . . . .• 138 

Frail Craft, A 226 

Furnas, Tanzy R 321 

H 

Harris, Jno. T 82 

Hyslop, Robt. A 114 

Hathaway, Warren - 122 

Hall, Wesley 151 

Hall, The Assembly 308 



J 

Jones, Chas. J • 126 

Jefferson, Thos 279 

K 

Klapp, P. T 249 

L 

Long, D. A. 119 

Long, W. S 287 

Lee, Willis J 288 

M 

Mobing, Alfred 97 

Millard, David E 122 

Manning, Jno. N 208 

Mulleb, George 344 

O 

Memorial Christian Temple, The 180 

Old Giant, The 200 

r 

Piebson, Arthur T 240 

Peabson, Mrs. Polly 290 

R 

Robebts, B. F 89 

Roosevelt, Theodobe 104 

S 

Savage, A lexandeb 208 

Shepherd and the Lamb, The 271 

Staley, W. W 296 

Strange Wobk ok a Spideb, The 319 

T 

Twiddy, T. A 327 

U 

Unequally Yoked 146 

W 

Wellons, W. B 20 

Worse, Last Resting-place 258 

Worley, Thos. A 279 



I_MY FIRST RELIGIOUS IMPRESSION. 

It is said first impressions are the most lasting. I 
do not doubt it. So far as I can now recall, my first 
religious impression came from a rebuke given me by 
my mother. I had shown some disposition to disobey 
her, for which she faithfully called me to account. I 
cannot now remember her exact words, but I do recall 
most vividly the impression she left upon my mind and 
heart — it was the fear of doing a wrong thing, and 
though I was but a child, the impression of less than 
two minutes' talk has not left me to this day. It has 
stood as a wall of defence to me in many an hour 
when the tempter has been trying to win me to a life 
of sin. I shall never know in this life the blessing that 
came to me in the lesson mother gave me that day. 
You may ask, "Why did her reproof so impress you?" 
It w^as not due to any over severity, or to any dread of 
actual punishment at her hands, and yet the lesson 
abides. I suspect that the power of her rebuke might 
be found in another direction. My father was a 
farmer, what was known in his day as "a hard-working 
man." My mother was a plain farmer's wife. While 
I was yet too small to attend school, she was my daily, 
and almost hourly, companion. I was with her more 
than any other living being. When I could not find 
her about the house, I was most lonely. This often 
occurred, especially at a stated time of the day. Every 
day at the hour of half past ten or eleven o'clock, she 
was likely to disappear. Missing her presence, I would 
go in search of her. I would go to the garden, to the 



14 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

cook room, or to her own sitting room, and when I 
could not find her in any of these places, then I knew 
there was one other place where I would most likely 
find her, and straight to the little room upstairs T 
would go, and there, kneeling beside a little clothes 
chest, I usually found her, but I could not induce her 
to say anything to me — she seemed as if talking to 
Another — it was her place for secret prayer. I was 
too small to understand its real significance. Later I 
came to know what it meant. It was her daily custom, 
at the hour named, to retire from all work to that little 
upper room for prayer. Her picture is still almost 
perfect in memory's eye. I see her now, as I saw her 
then, kneeling beside the little chest in the upstairs 
room. It is the most precious photograph I now have 
of her simple and beautiful face as she communed 
with God. Her prayer life impressed me for good. Now 
that I am more than fifty years away from the scene, 
1 am sure that mother's prayers were a source of real 
blessing to my life and to all the family. Two of her 
boys became ministers of the gospel, a grandson also 
became a missionary to Porto Rico, and all of her 
children early in life became Christians and active 
members of the Church: 

"Her earthly race was well run; 
Her work of love was well done ; 
Her crown of life was well won." 

May God give the Church many praying mothers— 
they are its greatest earthly asset and a mighty power 
in the Kingdom of God, and yet all too often they are 
poorly appreciated. Even their own children often 
forget to tell mother of their love for her and of the 
blessing she has been to them. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 15 

Ali, if we could only just have one more oppor- 
tunity to tell her of our love for her, how we would 
pour out our heart's love in grateful confession of her 
great worth — of the blessing she had been to us all. 
Alas, it is too late for even that small service lo be 
rendered now, and the best we can do for the future is 
to live a pure and noble Christian life — one that will 
honor her memory and glorify the God she loved and 
served. 



II— HOW I MISSED BEING A PRINTER. 

I was a farmer's son, and as such, knew nothing 
of the ways of the world, except in our own little 
home and neighborhood circle. The pastor of our 
church was also the editor and publisher of our denomi- 
national paper. My Sunday-school teacher was taking 
great interest in me, and as the Civil War had prac- 
tically destroyed my chances of an education, he 
thought if I could learn the printer's trade in the 
publishing house of our pastor, it would be just the 
thing for me. Perhaps he put the wish into my mind. 
Then I approached my father on the subject. He was 
not favorably impressed, but finally agreed to take me 
to Suffolk, -Va., to see the editor and publisher and 
see if anything could be done. I remember that Octo- 
ber day in 1869 well, almost as if it were but yesterday. 
It was a bright day, with the air just bracing enough 
to make the journey pleasant. My expectations were 
high, but as father and I drew near to the little town, 
I began to have fears as to what the new work might 
mean to me, and instead of anxiety lest I should fail 
to secure the position, I began to fear that I might, 



16 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

and in that case, my home days were most likely over. 
Soon we were in the town, and my father met the 
editor. They talked it all over, a position was offered 
me, but father did not think Avell of it, and lie deter- 
mined to go back home before deciding whether to 
accept the offer or not. My first day in town had been 
to me a great day of sight-seeing. I can yet see the 
streets and many of the buildings as they were that 
day. To-day Suffolk looks like another town — it has 
so much improved. I specially remember the printing 
office and how it looked inside arid out. After reaching 
home my father and mother discussed the matter of 
my going to learn the printer's trade, and finally they 
decided that it was better that I should not go. That 
was the going out of one of my early hopes. Father 
encouraged me with the promise of all the help he 
could give me in the way of school privileges, but in 
less than three months from the day of our visit to 
Suffolk father was taken from us in death, and that 
seemed to end all of my prospects of school life. Seem- 
ingly all I lacked of becoming a printer was my 
fathers consent. Believing in the guiding hand of 
Providence, and seeing that much of my life has been 
connected with the newspaper service, it seems even 
now quite a puzzle that it was not a part of the plan 
of the heavenly Father that I should learn the printer's 
trade. To the Father it was good thai it should 
not be so, and I have no criticism to offer. 1 1 is way is 
best for His children. 

"He leadeth me ! Oh ! blessed thought, 
Oh, words, with heavenly comfort fraught ; 
Whate'er I do, wher'er I be, 
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me." 



EXPERIENCES ALONG Till] WW 



17 



III— JOINING THE BIBLICAL (LASS. 



In 1869 the Eastern Virginia Christian Conference 
met Avitli the church at Antioch, Isle of Wight County, 
Va. That was my old home church. I had been reared 
there and was taught in its Sunday-school. I remem- 
ber well that I was the only boy in the men's class, 
taught by the late Maj. I. W. Duck. I took great 
interest in the lessons, but there came a day when I 

began to drift, not into any 
serious immorality, but 
away from the Sunday- 
school. I had been absent 
from the class for some time. 
One day I was in the build- 
ing, but not in the class — I 
was drifting away! That 
day our faithful teacher met 
me in the aisle, just as I was 
leaving the house. He 
stopped me and putting his 
arms about me, besought me 
to return- to the class and 
keep my place. His appeal was very tender and it was 
effective. I went back to my place in the class. It w T as a 
turning point in my life. That year (1867) I was 
converted and united with the church. In those 
days Capt. Eichard Copeland, of blessed memory, 
was our superintendent. About this time Maj. 
Duck withdrew from the church and school at 
Antioch to establish the church at Mt. Carmel, and 
then Thos. J. Clements became my teacher. He took 
great interest in my welfare and used his influence 
with Dr. Wellons for my encouragement. He was the 




Major I. W. Duck 



18 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



first man to ask ine if I did not feel that I ought to 
preach the gospel. In this he took me by surprise. I 
did feel so impressed, but I had not told a living soul. 
I could not imagine how he got the idea, but I was 

delighted to know that my 
teacher was in sympathy 
with me. Under his en- 
couragement I decided to ap- 
ply at the next conference 
for admission to the Biblical 
Class as a student for the 
ministry. Accordingly at 
the Antioch Conference in 
1869, I appeared before the 
Educational Committee, but 
was badly frightened at 
the array of talent on (he 
committee. They examined 
me, a poor, ignorant, country boy. for about six hours. 
The questions I could noi answer were largely in the 
majority. When the examination was over, my failure 
had been so extraordinary that one of the committee 
said, as I retired, "This is a good boy, but, Oh, when 
wll he ever preach?" 




Thomas J. Clements 



IV— THE FIRST HOPE OF USEFULNESS. 



The late lamented Rev. William B. Wellons, D. I)., 
of the Eastern Virginia Christian Conference, was the 
pastor of the country church at Antioch in Isle of 
Wight County, Va. Some of the church people had 
had their attention directed to me as a possible student 
for the ministry. Why, I know not, unless it was 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE It 1) 10 

because, as my father used to say: "Oh, he has got a 
book." My friends knew but little, and I knew less, of 
(he requirements of thai greal work, and so some sug- 
gested to Dr. Wellons myself as a possible candidate 1 
for the ministry. He was very doubtful; but lie k( pi 
me in mind and observed my ways to see what he mighl 
think of the prospect. For a time he said nothing as 
to his conclusion. In that day a new book in the home 
was the same to me as a strange visitor in point 
of interest. I had recently purchased a copy of a 
Netv Testament with Notes. It greatly interested me. 
It was one of those books which my father said he 
could not keep out of my hands. No doubt it often 
stood in the way of regular work on my part on the 
farm. At the close of one of our Saturday meetings at 
the church, Dr. Wellons asked me to ride with him a 
piece down the road. That was a great honor! Not 
many of our plain country folk ever got the chance to 
ride with a gifted preacher from the town and the 
editor of our church paper. I was glad to accept the 
invitation, not having the remotest idea as to his reason 
for asking me. As he drove down the road in his 
buggy, he talked with me about the necessity for knowl- 
edge, and told me how he himself had learned to 
write. Said that he was a farmer's son, and that he 
used to follow the plow, and when he came to places 
made smooth in the sand by heavy rains, he would 
stoop down and write in the sand with his finger. This 
he said he kept up till he knew how to write. As we 
talked, he asked me questions till I was encouraged 
to ask him a question. I remember to this day what 
it was. Opening my New Testament with Notes, I 
pointed to a small letter in the body of the reading 
matter and asked him what it was there for — and what 




Rev. William H. AYcHoiis 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ TILE WAY 21 

did it mean ? He readily explained to me that the letter 
was designed to direct me to the bottom of the page, 
where I would find the same letter and a scriptural pas- 
sage named, which, it* I should turn to and read, I would 
find it giving me some light on the passage in which I 
found the letter. That threw a flood of light on the 
use of the little letters, increasing the value of my 
New Testament with Notes. After, a very pleasant 
ride of some distance, we parted, but I still did not 
know why he had invited me to ride with him. A 
long while afterward I ascertained the reason he had 
for asking me to ride with him, viz. : He desired an 
opportunity to study the boy at close range, to see if 
there was anything in him on which he might build 
a hope of usefulness in the Christian ministry. He 
declared years afterward that there w^as but one thing 
that encouraged him to hope that this boy might 
become useful in the ministry, and that was the fact 
that he had an enquiring mind — he wished to know 
things, as was shown by his enquiry as to the meaning 
of the little reference letters. How small a basis for 
hope of this kind! And yet Dr. Wellons took it as a 
foundation, and began to encourage the boy in his 
aspirations for usefulness. Soon the relationship 
between the two w^as almost as that of father and son, 
and so it remained, with one slight break, to the end 
of his life. I can never tell to others wiiat I ow^e to 
William B. Wellons, for under God he was to me a 
father and a teacher, a friend and a counselor to the 
day of his death. The truth is, I had learned to lean 
upon him for advice till I was almost at the point of 
not acting for myself at all. Then he was taken away 
and I w^as forced to act for myself, for I knew of no 
man who could take Dr. Wellons' place as an adviser. 



22 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

After his death responsibilities in church matters fell 
upon my shoulders rapidly. More than once I longed 
for the privilege of just a few minutes' talk with him. 
I did not then realize it, but his absence was made a 
blessing to me, in that I was led to a closer walk with, 
and dependence upon, God for guidance. Reference 
lias been made to one slight break in our friendship. 
You may find the account of that break elsewhere in 
this volume. {See page 52.) 



V— CAUGHT IN A '<CLOSE PLACE!" 

In the person of the late Rev. William B. Wellons, 
I). I)., I found one of the best friends I ever had out- 
side of my own family connections. He did much to 
keep me from yielding to bad habits. lie knew how to 
get around me and make me confess by coming at me 
indirectly. When I was <niite a small boy I fell into 
the bad habit of chewing tobacco. After 1 came to 
know Dr. Wellons, I was careful to conceal the habit 
from him. Indeed, I consoled myself with the thought 
that he did not know that I was addicted to the habit 
at all. One day I was riding with him in his buggy, 
when all of a sudden he reached for a small hand-bag 
and drew from it a tine apple, and as he did so, he 
said: "Have an apple?" 1 quickly responded, thanking 
him, but declining his kindness, when, lo, and behold, 
he said, "Why, have you tobacco in your mouth ?" T 
did not confess and I did not deny, but stammered out 
something, I cannot now recall just what, and as I was 
doing so, he passed the apple to me. What to do I did 
not know. I was reluctant to decline accepting it, 
lest he should discover the facts in the case. Now I 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 23 

had the apple in my hand and tobacco in tny mouth, 
and he was sitting by my side, waiting to see me eal 

the apple. What on earth to do with the situation I 
did not know! That apple must be eaten and he must 
not discover the fact that I had tobacco in my mouth. 
"Necessity is the mother of invention" — it was in this 
case. I used my tongue to pack the tobacco to one 
side, and then ate the apple by chewing it on the oppo- 
site side of the mouth, but it was the most unpleasant 
task, in the way of eating an apple, I ever had, but the 
apple was eaten, and if he knew I had tobacco in my 
mouth, he did not say so, although I believe he had 
such a suspicion. The ugly habit held me till a few 
months before he died, when I quit it once and for all. 
While I think he never knew surely that I did have 
the habit, yet I was by no means sure that he was 
ignorant of my sin. He may have been only guessing at 
it when he gave me that apple, but his guessing was 
too much for me. I have been told that the appetite 
for tobacco is more unmanageable than the appe- 
tite for liquor, and I believe it, although I have never 
taken strong drink, as a beverage, not once in my life, 
but if the drink appetite is any worse than the tobacco 
appetite, it is not strange that so many men and 
women fail in all of their efforts to reform. Though I 
quit the ugly habit now almost forty years ago, the 
appetite has never entirely left me. I am never con- 
scious of a desire to use it, but in my sleep I often 
dream of using it. 



'Like some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, 
Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm, 
Though rough its breast the rolling clouds are spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles round its head." 



24 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

VI— BEOTHER JOSEPH'S DREAM. 

Ordinarily I regard dreams as having no special 
significance, and yet we know in the days of the proph- 
ets and some others of the Old Testament worthies, 
dreams meant very much. It may be that even now 
they would mean much if any of us would live close 
enough to God to make it possible for Him to impress 
us with His thought in a dream. I do not seek to dis- 
cuss that point at this time, but rather would I bring- 
to the attention of the reader a remarkable dream 
which was literally fulfilled many years later. 

My oldest brother, the late Deacon Joseph A. Bar- 
rett, when a child, dreamed that a farm adjoining my 
father's home, and on which the girlhood of my mother 
was spent, had been sold, thai my Father bought it, 
that he grew up and married and went there to live, 
and that in a very short lime after he made it his home, 
father died. It made quite an impression on his mind, 
and he did not forget it. The years of his childhood 
passed and in I860, just as he was coming into young 
manhood, he married. The event occurred on Nov. 3. 
Meantime father had bought the farm mentioned 
above, and it did become the home of brother and his 
bride. About the middle of the next month father was 
taken ill and on the last day of December, 18G9, he 
passed away, and so the dream of a child had been 
fulfilled years after it was given. I have no explana- 
tion to offer — I do not know why it should have been 
that way — why he should have had such a dream, nor 
why it should have been fulfilled. On two other occa- 
sions he had dreams that were just as truly fulfilled 
as in this case. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \) 25 

VII— AT CONFERENCE IX L870. 

This was my second conference. It met at Spring 
Hill in Sussex County, Virginia, early in November, 
1870. I was but' a boy, but being a member of She 
Biblical Class, it was my duty to be there. Maj. Irwin 
W. Duck, one of the well-to-do men of our community, 
was going to drive through the country in his carriage 
and offered to give me a seat with him. I was glad 
to accept it. The drive must have been over thirty 
miles. We reached the conference in good time. I was 
assigned to a home with Col. Booth. He was a fine 
old gentleman of the Methodist faith, and had a fine 
country home. The Educational Committee made his 
home their headquarters during the conference ses- 
sions. I presume that secured for me such a fine home. 
After supper the first night, the committee began its 
work. There were a number of students to be ex- 
amined. Among them was a rather aged man from 

the State of New York, a Brother D . He was a 

highly educated man, knowing most likely as much, 
and it may be more, than any man on the committee. 
When the examination closed that night it was about 
two o'clock — a very late hour for ordinary people. As 
we were leaving the parlor, one brother requested me 
to extinguish the light. I did so, and this made me the 
last to reach the bedroom, where I found all in bed but 
one person. Immediately a brother in a bed alone said 
to that brother, calling him by name, "You sleep with 
me." The invitation was quickly accepted, whereupon 
some other said, "Are you going to put the oldest and 
the youngest to sleep together?" Knowing I was the 
youngest, I looked to see who was likely to be my bed- 
fellow. It was Bro. D., our New r York man. I saw 



26 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

kirn disrobe and to my amazement when lie was ready 
for bed there Avas nothing left in the way of clothing. 
In this shape he jumped into bed and covered up. T 
instantly shrank from the encounter, and turning to a 
bed already well filled, I said : "Do let me come in here 
— I can never sleep with him!" Two large men were 
already occupying the bed, but they gave me room, see- 
ing my embarrassing situation. Feeling that I was ai* 
intruder, I lay as near on the edge of the bed as possi- 
ble, that I might not crowd those who were there by 
right. In a few minutes all was quiet and I dropped 
off to sleep, and the next thing I knew I had dropped 
off the bed and the floor caught me. As quietly as 
possible I slipped back to my narrow space and said 
nothing. Soon some one enquired: "What has become 
of that man who fell out of the bed?" Forthwith some 
man was making an examination — but I kept still and 
had not a word to say. The next morning there was 
quite a bit of enquiry as to who tell out of the bed, but 
1 kept still. Finally my dear friend and father in the 
ministry, the late Rev. William 13. Wellons, D. 1)., 
came up to me, lace to face, and looking me squarely in 
the eye, he said: "Pressley, who Fell out of the bed 
last night?" Like George Washington, I could not 
tell a lie, and so I had to tell the truth — I confessed 
it was I, and though since then I have attended almost 
forty sessions of the conference, I have many times 
heard of "f ailing out of bed." But who blames me? I 
was not brave enough to take as my bed-fellow a man 
who slept with nothing left — of course I was not going 
to do a thing like that. 

This Bro. D. had a great many queer habits. One 
was to get up early in the morning, no matter how cold, 
and if he could find a pond of water, he would plunge 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 27 

into it. Another queer habit was eating only one meal 
a day. The people of the South were not at all used to 
any such custom as that, and so they did not know just 
how to provide for him. I recall the fact that he went 
to spend the night in the home of the late Col. John R. 
Copeland. It was a home of w T ealth and refinement. 
Bro. D. would eat no supper, but when breakfast came 
he was ready. In that part of the country corn bread 
was a common article of diet. Col. Copeland and his 
good wife and daughter had prepared a splendid break- 
fast. As they were seated, Bro. D. was requested to "ask 
a blessing," which he did, and then, after their usual 
custom, he was helped to food, except the fine cake 
of corn bread — that was passed from one to another. 
Bro. D. being company, it was passed to him first, and 
to the amazement of the family the old gentleman took 
the whole "pone," leaving not a morsel for any one 
else. But what could they do? They did not wish to 
make an objection — they were too considerate to do 
that, and so they made their breakfast on other arti- 
cles, without "a bite" of bread. Years afterward I 
heard Col. Copeland tell of this incident and laugh 
heartily at the plight in which Bro. D. had placed his 
family. The whole pone of bread was not too much, 
for the old man ate enough at one meal to serve him for 
three. 

Most of the dear men w r ho had part in the incidents 
of this sketch have long since gone to their reward, 
and by and by, I hope to meet them with Him in whose 
presence there is fulness of joy forever. 

"Oh, how sweet it will be in that beautiful land, 
So free from all sorrow and pain, 
With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands 
To meet one another again." 



28 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

VIII— A VERY GREAT PROMISE. 

We depend upon the promises of our friends. To 
do otherwise would be to dishonor them. Faith is the 
basis of the strength of a promise. Faith implies love 
and the more we love some dear one, the more we de- 
pend upon his or her promise. I am in need, urgent 
need. A dear friend learns of my need and promises 
to help me on the morrow. I have been greatly dis- 
turbed by my situation, so much so, that I could not 
sleep at night or rest through the day. Now I can 
both rest in the day and sleep through the night, not 
that my need has been supplied, but I have a promise 
that it shall be supplied to-morrow, and on that prom- 
ise I am resting and sleeping as my weary body 
demands. The strength of the promise is in my great 
love for the Promiser ; which faith inspired. Love in- 
spires confidence — I feel sure the one I love so much 
will not disappoint me in the hour of my great need, 
and so I rest in faith, nothing doubting. In John 
14:21, wo have a great promise, made especially for 
the men and women and children who love .Jesns. The 
promise reads: 

"He that hath mi/ commandments, and keepeth (hem, he 

it is Hint toveth me: and lie that Inrcth me shall be loved of 
uni Father, and l will love him, and will manifesi myself to 
him" 

The great promise is threefold: 

L. A promise of the Father's love. 

2. A promise of Jesus 7 love. 

:>. The manifestation of Jesus to the individual. 

But what individual? Why, the person who has 
the commandments, and not only has them, but keeps, 
or obeys, them. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \V\) 20 

Now we have the philosophy of the Christian life 

in a nut-shell — the very basis of the highest possible 
experience in Christian living, viz.: Obeying flic com- 
mandments. Do that and you have the promise of 
Jesus that He will manifest Himself to you. In that 
Word manifest there is a great secret of inestimable 
worth to the believer. In the original language Jesus 
used the word emphanizo, which implies that the place 
where He will manifest Himself to the believer is in 
the inner spiritual consciousness of the soul. So now 
we have the idea bright and clear: Obey God and we 
shall share in both the love of the Father and the love 
of Jesus and in the inner recesses of the soul Jesus will 
appear in all of His loveliness and we shall know Him 
by the ecstacy of His presence — a sunburst of the 
divine Presence. 

.But when Jesus manifests Himself there must be 
an eye to see, a heart to feel. The blind man does not 
see the light, the deaf hears not the music, the sleeper 
knows nothing of darkness. It requires a seeing eye, a 
hearing ear, and a conscious mind to enjoy the light, 
to hear the music, or to shun the darkness. So Jesus 
manifests Himself to the eye which has been opened 
and qualified in fellowship with Him to behold His 
glory. 



IX— MY FIRST WEEK FROM HOME AT SCHOOL. 

In January, 1871, I left home to attend school 
with a view to preparing myself, educationally, for the 
work of the Christian ministry. It was a very trying 
experience. Father had died only a year before, my 
oldest brother had but recently married and gone to 



30 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

build a home for himself, and now I was leaving home 
— leaving mother to look after the affairs of the family 
by the help of two younger brothers, both small. It did 
look as if I had but little consideration for her, and 
yet I felt I must preach, or at least I must try, and if 
so, then I must prepare myself for that work. Indeed, 
I had a struggle with myself in breaking away, for I 
was leaving one of the dearest of mothers and other 
loved ones, all more or less dependent, and their 
dependent condition seemed to point to me as running 
away from duty. But what could a poor boy do, 
feeling that he must preach, if he would serve the de- 
mands of his own inner consciousness? It seemed that 
duty was staring me in the face from two standpoints. 
It is said that duties never conflict — by that I under- 
stand that it is not any man's duty to do two opposite 
things at the same time. It did seem that [ ought to look 
after mother, and it was quite as clear that I ought 
to prepare myself for the great work of the Christian 
ministry. It was indeed a struggle, but mother nobly 
came to my help, and encouraged me to go — she would 
not allow her needs, not even the needs of the children, 
to stand in the way of obeying what I had interpreted 
to be a call to the service of God in preaching the 
gospel, and so I went — to the academy at Level Green 
in Nansemond County, Va., then under the care of 
Rev. C. A. Apple. Bro. Jno. T. Kitchen and I boarded 
in the family of Mr. Apple. The surroundings were 
new, many of the ways of the people were strange to 
me, and before the first week had ended, I was so home- 
sick that I felt I could not stand the pressure. I recall, 
almost as if it were j^esterday, that in my loneliness 
and homesickness I went to the woods one evening 
just as the sun was setting. I fancied that my old 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \ ) 31 

home was toward the sun-set, and as I watched the 
going down of the greal luminary of the day, I fell 
that I could never stand it — the burden would crush 
me, and that was all there was to it. Had I been able 
to see then all the truth of the situation — thai I had 
left the old home, as a home, forever — I should most 
likely have collapsed. But so it has proven. Then 1 
looked forward to the time when I might return to 
home and loved ones — that gave me some relief, but 
the old home of my childhood and I had parted — 
parted to be no more reunited as in the days of yore. 

"Home, home, sweet, sweet home!" 

"Oh, that dear, dear old home, in my visions and dreams, 
Its bright, lovely circles I can see; 
Till I fancy only a thin veil intervenes 
Between its dear portals and me." 



X— THE MISTAKE MY TEACHER MADE. 

In 1871 Rev. C. A. Apple became my teacher. I 
boarded in his home and therefore had special advan- 
tages under his training. He was a fine teacher and did 
much for me as a student. The interest, the unselfish 
interest, he took in my welfare I cannot forget. He 
devoted many hours of what might otherwise have been 
his leisure to giving me private instruction, and he did 
it without a money consideration, which even ordinary 
tuition would have given him. He made absolutely no 
charge, but labored day after day to promote my 
progress and to prepare me for usefulness in the work 
to which it was my purpose to devote my life. 

Mr. Apple knew r w r hat to do in the schoolroom. 
He could do as much to impart knowledge to others 



32 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

as any man with whom I was ever associated. He 
could also stimulate the student to do good, honest, 
hard work, and of course, that always pays. He was 
also a great critic. In his judgment there seemed to 
be but few really great men in the world, and with 
these he was on the best of terms intellectually. He 
had two special gifts. He could make you see the 
greatness of others, and he could make you see and 
feel your own littleness. In this respect he was a 
success. Under his teaching I came to think these few 
men were the great ones of earth, while the others were 
very small indeed, and of them all, 1 was the least. I 
suspect he did mi 1 good in that, but 1 have never 
recovered from the impression he thus made upon my 
own mind as to myself. One good thing followed— 
viz.: so far as I know i have never had a case of "the 
big head," and that is no small gain, for nothing so 
spoils a young preacher as a well-developed case of 
the "big head," nor does it grace an old one. May the 
Lord give our teachers enough good sense and tact to 
cure all young ministers <>f any hereditary, or acquired 3 
tendency to "a swelling in the head." Of all the 
intellectual diseases none are so dangerous, or so 
destructive to high usefulness, and then it does make 
a man so ugly. Nothing spoils his beauty more than 
this big head. Better wear the scars of smallpox all 
your days than to have a genuine case of "the big 
head." The smallpox scars will not destroy your use- 
fulness, but "the big head" will, and make you ugly 
besides. 

As a teacher Mr. Apple was equal to his task. He 
gave me one rule in the matter of punctuation which 
has been worth a great deal to me. It was very simple, 
but most effective. It was this: "Never write any- 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 33 

thing without punctuating it." I made thai rule govern 
my work in writing, and while I do not claim to be a 
specialist in that line of work, I am very sure thai rule 
did more to make me proficient in the matter of 
punctuation than any other under which I ever tried to 
work. He was merciless in criticism, but 1 do believe 
that his severity made me far more careful than other- 
wise I might have been. 

In November, 1878, Mr. Apple withdrew from the 
Christian Church and united Avith the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, South. He said he felt he was handicapped 
by the limitations of his field in the Christian Church 
— said when he made the change he expected the world 
to hear from him. In this, however, he was evidently 
disappointed. Soon he left the Methodist and united 
with the Protestant Episcopal Church, but he could 
not rally, and never had half the influence after leaving 
us he did while with us. And this is worth thinking 
about — worth the attention and consideration of men 
who get restless in their own Church and want to go to 
another. It is a rare thing for a man in the ministry 
to leave one body of Christians and then rise to 
eminence in another. It is hard to gain the confidence 
of the people to whom one goes, and it is equally hard 
to keep the confidence of the people whom you leave. 
If the Lord places you in a Church, then stay there 
and do your best to promote the Master's cause among 
the people with whom He has cast your lot. You can 
do more for the promotion of God's cause, laboring 
where He wants you, under most tmfavorable circum- 
stances than you can under the most favorable condi- 
tions laboring where He does not wish you. A larger 
field is a most inviting outlook for many, but the field 
chosen for vou of the Lord is the most inviting of all — 



34 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

that and that only can bring your life to its best and 
give you the largest fruitage for the good of the world 
through Christ. We cannot trust ourselves to be 
leaders in this matter. The Holy Spirit is to be our 
Leader, if we are to be led aright, for He only knows 
the Way and the Truth and the Life. Let us follow 
His guidance ! In John 15 : 16 Jesus said : 

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and 
ordained (placed) you, that ye should go and bring forth 
fruit, and that your fruit should remain: That whatsoever ye 
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." 



XI— MY FIRST SERMON. 

The cruel Civil War came in my ninth year and — 
cut off the meager school privileges which I might 
otherwise have enjoyed. When the war was over, we 
had been so reduced financially, that I could not get 
the means to attend school. From 1865 till 1871 I had 
a few days now and then in school. In 1871, I Avent to 
the Level Green Academy, but had to work a good bit 
to make the financial "tongue and buckle" meet. I had 
a good instructor and made some progress, so that by 
the summer of 1873 it was thought by my seniors that 
I might preach a few sermons to make a beginning. I 
was invited to preach at Union church in Southamp- 
ton County, Va., August 10, 1873. I accepted and did 
the best I could. But like most other young preachers 
in beginning, I took a text which was enough to tax 
the ability of our strongest men. Poor boy, I did not 
know any better ! When I reached the church, I found 
quite a congregation present. There was but one man 
on the ground, or in the church, whom I had ever seen. 
I was ignorant and timid, but I tried to do my best. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 35 

The congregation no doubt pitied me, and no doubt 
they were as much to be pitied as I was. I recall the 
trip — it was twelve miles from my mother's home to 
the church. Thanks to her kindness, I rode the old 
family horse, Caleb. The picture of myself on the old 
white horse going down the road that Sunday 
morning has never faded from my memory. I 
reached the church in good time and went into the 
pulpit. A bigger task lay before me that day than 
taking a city, but I was there and there was but one 
thing to be done — try! and I did that. That fall I 
was licensed, but had nowhere to preach. This church, 
where I had preached my first sermon, finally gave me 
the privilege to preach for them once a month. I under- 
took it, but had many difficulties to overcome. After 
a few months of trial, I was not satisfied with my 
preaching and thought I must do something to improve 
it. I asked an older minister to lend me a book of 
sermons. I told him I simply wished to see if I were 
preaching anything like other ministers. He loaned 
me such a work. I read several sermons in it, and for 
the purpose named, but finally I read one that im- 
pressed me favorably, and I concluded I would try to 
preach from that text, and I did, but I made a miser- 
able failure. The text was significant in view of my 
poor success. It was this: " And the woman beguiled 
me and I did eat." I had not reached the climax till 
I was quite sure the text applied to me, for something 
(I suppose it was vanity, although, if I had known it, 
I had not a thing in this world to be vain over) had 
beguiled me and I had eaten to my sorrow. I had 
enough of trying to borrow other men's sermons — that 
day's experience cured me and I have stayed cured. 
1 may not, indeed I am sure I do not, preach great ser- 



36 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

mons, but what I do preach are not stolen. The lesson 
was a very trying one, but it was valuable to me. I 
would advise all young preachers to make the ninth 
commandment applicable to sermons as well as to 
other things — it is as wrong to steal a sermon as a 
penny. 

I had not been preaching at Union a great while 
till on one occasion I was in the pulpit, doing my best, 
when a chicken hen jumped out from under the pulpit 
and gave me a race for the attention of the people by 
an extraordinary cackling. I showed a brave hand 
and tried to drown her noise by my own, but she got 
the best of the race. The people were greatly amused 
while I was greatly chagrined. I never did get to 
feel easy in thai pulpit — it bad loo many slinging 
memories for my com fori, and yei I have no doubt 
even these were helpful to me — a real blessing (o my 
a Tier ministry. At least 1 was taught by my (rials 
there, some imporlanl lessons- lessons which have 
served me For lo, these many years, in the "ups and 
downs" of life and its labors. 



XII— HOW THE DOCTOR LEARNED HIS 
LESSON. 

In the early days of my ministry, meeting Dr. 
John T. Phillips, a practicing physician, one day, I 
said: "How are you. Doctor?" "All right, " he said, and 
then lie added: "I have made up my mind never to 
complain again!" That was a big resolution, and as T 
thought a very strange one, but none the less a good 
one. We all need to be ashamed of the way we com- 
plain at mere trifles, to say nothing of the more serious 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE \\.\) 37 

difficulties in life. Then the doctor proceeded to ex- 
plain why lie had made up his mind to quit complain- 
ing. He said: 

"One day I was called to see a sick lady and her daughter, 
On my way to her home, I was feeling very much out of sorts, 
and I felt the world was using me very badly. I had a strong 
spell of the blues, and nothing was going to suit me. I 
reached the home of the sick people and went in to see my 
patients. I was not in a good condition to enter a sick room, 
for I was myself too miserable to carry sunshine to any one. 
As I entered the sick room, I was amazed at what I saw. 
There lay before me in bed, a mother dying by inches from a 
terrible cancer on her face, and just by her side lay an only 
(laughter, dying of consumption, and to mv surprise, though 
thus terribly afflicted and in poverty, with almost no one to 
do for them, they were both so bright and happy — just as 
though they were in the best of circumstances, and there 1 
stood with a long face and too miserable for anything good ! 
I gave them the needed attention and turned my face toward 
home but then and there I resolved if the Lord would forgive 
me for complaining that day, I would never do it again." 

The lesson which this doctor learned, all of us 
need to learn. How we are blessed, and yet we go 
frowning and complaining, as if we had not one com- 
fort in the world. The good cheer of the dying mother 
and daughter we all ought to study till we get ashamed 
of our complaining, and catching a gleam of light from 
the face of the Sun of Righteousness, we might go 
forth to bless and not to curse. How our complaining 
grieves the great heart of God! How surely the joy 
of that dying mother and daughter honored the Lord ! 
It was an evidence of the goodness of the Master they 
served, and through it, He revealed Himself to as many 
as saw them in their poverty and afflictions. Friends, 
let us join the doctor and promise by God's help to quit 
complaining and go to praising Him for all His good- 
ness to the children of men ! 



38 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

Truly the Psalmist said: 

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the 
same the Lord's name is to oe praised" 

"Are you heavy laden, with sorrow tried? 
Stop and look to Jesus, Helper, Friend, and Guide ; 
Think of all His mercies; such a boundless store! 
Tears will change to praises as you count them o'er." 



"Countless mercies ! 
Such a boundless store! 
Countless mercies ! 
Pressed and running o'er! 
Countless mercies ! 
Try to count them o'er, 
Till you gaze in wonder at 
Your boundless store!" 



XIII— THE MISUSE OF A BEAUTIFUL 
THOUGHT. 

It is wonderful to see bow apt most people are in 
misquoting the Scriptures. Again, even if they quote 
correctly, they are most likely to miss applying the 
thought and get out of it a meaning not in it at all. 
Of course out of a misquotation is most likely to come 
a misapplication. The two go much together and often 
confuse good people, and all because they do not think 
carefully when they read. 

How often we hear 1 Cor. 2 : 9 ? quoted as proof that 
we mortals cannot know of the wonders of grace while 
we are in the flesh. Let us read it: 

"But as it is icritten, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,, 
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him." 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 39 

That is construed to mean that we cannot know 
of the fulness of God's blessings while we are here in 
the flesh. That the truth is just the opposite is clearly 
the meaning. You see you stopped reading at the 
wrong point. Go back and add to it the next verse> 
and you will see the meaning is quite another thing. 
Between the ending of the ninth verse and the begin- 
ning of the tenth there should be only a comma, while 
it is ordinarily printed as a period. That of itself 
makes a wrong impression. Now let us try it alto- 
gether, putting in the comma between the two verses 
instead of the period: 

"But as it is ivHtten, Eye liath not seen, nor ear heard,, 
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him, out God hath 
revealed them unto us by his Spirit." 

You see that last clause proclaims just what many 
have been contending cannot be given to us while we 
are yet in the flesh. What Paul seems to mean is that 
these great gifts of God, the eye, nor the ear, nor the 
heart of the natural, or the unregenerate, man, can 
possibly grasp these riches of the spiritual life, and for 
the reason that the flesh cannot know the things of 
the Spirit, but Paul then declares that while this is 
true of the unregenerate man, God has not only pre- 
pared these things for His people, but He has revealed 
them to His children by His Spirit. Indeed the things 
which God hath prepared for His children, these are 
the things which the tenth verse declares He has 
revealed unto us who love Him — not that He withholds 
these good things from His people, but that He gives 
them what is best for them. 

"Let Him have His way with you." 



40 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

XIY— HUNTING A SLIGHT. 

It is bad enough to suffer from a slight when it 
seeks you, but it must be much worse when you seek a 
slight and then receive its full blow squarely in the 
face. I was taught an important lesson as to "hunting 
for a slight" when I was but a boy in the ministry. 

I had been assisting, or at least making an effort 
to do so, Rev. Edwin W. Beale, in a series of meetings 
at the Berea Church in Xansemond County, Virginia. 
The meeting was nearing its close, and I felt compelled 
to leave in order to till my own appointment at Spring 
Hill, in Sussex County. To do so I must go to Suffolk 
to get a train. That was ten miles from Berea. I 
hinted around to some of the brethren that I needed 
to go, but no one offered to take me. I would not press 
the matter, and the next morning I walked to Suffolk. 
Blistered feet made me remember that walk for several 
days, but I walked the distance and made my train 
and reached my appointment all right. 

A short lime after thai I met Dr. W. B. Wellons, 
who knew the Berea people well, for he had been their 
pastor for several years, and he mentioned the matter. 
He wanted to know why I walked. 1 tojd him because 
the people seemed to be too busy to bring me to Suffolk. 
He knew they would not have allowed me to walk had 
they known that I must go, and then he said in a way 1 
have never forgot: "You were hunting a slight, were 
you?*' I said, "No, sir," but that did not change his 
view of the matter. His rebuke to me made such an 
impression as to this day remains. Indeed, I believe 
it influenced mv life in a very important way. T saw 
the folly of taking a slight over every little thing, and 
I made up my mind, if I had hunted a slight once, I 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 41 

would never do it again, and to (his day I think not 
three people have ever heard me complain of being 
slighted. Indeed, it so impressed me that since that 
time, T have made it the rule of my life, if any one 
tried to pass around a slight, to shut my eyes and 
refuse to see it, and that has proven to be one of the 
wisest things I ever did. It has saved me from many 
a spell of worry and depression, which a fancied slight 
would otherwise have given me. Doubtless Dr. Wellons 
was right, although I did not think I was hunting for 
a slight, still I guess it did not lack much of it. The 
Berea people are, and have long been, noted for their 
willingness to do for the preachers wdio serve them. 

I have related this incident only to show T others, 
and especially young ministers, the importance of not 
hunting a slight. Indeed, if a slight were offered, the 
wisest thing the man or woman to whom it is offered, 
can do, is not to see it at all, and go on as if you had 
never a thought of such a thing — you will be happier, 
and the offending person will become ashamed of his 
littleness. I beseech you, do not take a slight, if it 
be possible to avoid doing so, and always be sure not 
to hunt one. 



XV— CALLS TO THE DEEPER SPIRITUAL LIFE. 

My father was never a church member. He w x as 
of good moral character and of stern integrity. He 
had great respect for real religion and w T as himself a 
regular attendant upon church services. I have heard 
mother tell of his efforts to become a Christian. Just 
a few months before my birth, she saw him in the old- 
fashioned protracted meeting go forward to the altar, 



42 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

THE LITTLE WHITE CHURCH ON THE HILL 



There's a dear old church by "the wildwood, 
I love to think of it still ; 
Sweet memory of my childhood — 
The little white church on the hill. 




Antioch Christian Church, Isle oi A\ ight Co., A a. 

There, so near my happy childhood's home, 
Rests the one I loved so well ; * 
She sleeps 'neath the oak's leafy dome — 
Waiting her Master's call from the dell. 

There, close by the side of that loved one, 
Where the fairest wild flowers bloom ; 
When the last farewell hymn has been sung — 
Lay me by her side in the tomb. 



* Mother. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WJ i 4.'J 

seeking the forgiveness of sin. This step on his part 
made a profound impression upon her heart and mind. 
Her own soul was mightily moved in sympathy for 
him. She yearned for his salvation. At that time he 
did not find Christ, nor did he for many years. He 
was a close observer of conduct, and when conduct was 
highly Christian, it always impressed him most favor- 
ably. My oldest brother, Joseph, made a profession of 
faith in Christ, while a mere boy. I think it was in 
1865. A few days afterward, I heard father say to 
my mother : "I believe Joe Alfred has been truly con- 
verted — there is a great change in his life." Mother 
was always a godly woman, ever filled with the spirit 
of reverence and devotion. She did much to encourage 
and help her children walk in the way of the Christian 
life. From my earliest recollection I had felt deeply 
impressed as to religion. After Brother Joseph's con- 
version my heart hungered after a similar experience, 
but the way seemed shut up to me. In September, 
1867, I think it was, in a meeting at Old Antioch, Isle 
of Wight County, Virginia, under the labors of the 
late Rev. William B. Wellons, I found Christ. I remem- 
ber the occasion almost as if it were but yesterday. 
As I walked home that evening, I now recall how 
everything seemed so changed. I distinctly remember 
how I felt. As I expressed myself, I felt "as light as a 
feather." It was a beautiful experience. It is true I 
knew but very little of the Christian life. My thought 
was to do no wrong and hold on to what I had — I did 
not understand it was both my duty and high privilege 
to go on to larger things in the divine life. Thus I 
kept along for years. I had commenced to preach. 
In 1875 I entered college. I remember on one occasion 
while in my room alone, I had a most unusual experi- 



44 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

ence — it was new to me. It was a great overflow of 
Christian joy. I had a dim idea that it was a new 
spiritual experience. For hours I was in ecstacy, but 
said but little, perhaps nothing, to any one about it. 
Gradually my experience came to be normal again, 
and then I went on for years without any marked 
impression in that direction. About the year 1890, I 
read a book bearing on the fulness of the divine life. 
It impressed me deeply. 1 felt my exceeding need. 
Then I began to seek in a quiet way to possess my 
rightful possessions. My heart longed for this larger 
and richer experience. In some way I did nol enter 
into the promised inheritance. I had glimpses of 
better things, but that was all. Then came the hand 
of affliction which carried me to the verge of eternity. 
For hours I felt I was almost looking into the world 
to come. Every moment 1 was expecting to depart, 
and yet I was spared. Since that day the Lord has 
graciously added more than twenty years to my life 
(1891-1014), and with it all the best opportunities of 
my earthly life for service. I remember so well how 
ii seemed to me thai day I was expecting every momenl 
to leave the earthly house of clay and go to see Jesus 
and the loved ones who had gone before. Ii was all so 
peal to me, thai when 1 found my life had been spared 
and with some hope of recovery, I felt a distinct loss in 
not seeing the dear ones on the other side. That was 
a sense of loss that I cannot explain, hut it seemed 
real to me. 

The effect of the illness remained a long time with 
me, but when I was able to resume my work, I found 
my heart hungry for a richer and larger experience in 
the Christian life, and I could not rest till I had 
found Him whom my soul loveth. It was in the spring 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE \\ \) ir. 

of L892, when the blessed Spiril visited me in greal 
power. After the incoming of His presence, I realized 
a decided change in my outlook as well as in my inlook. 
The next time I went into the pulpit, 1 found myself 
talking so easily and quietly, and then I found the 
message was having effects that I had never witnessed 
before in my ministry. Many in the audience seemed 
moved with tenderness. I had not made any special 
public mention of my new experience, but the people 
felt its presence and knew that something had been at 
work in my heart. 

There may be differences of opinion touching this 
matter, but I know that my life was greatly blessed in 
the seeking of the larger gifts of the Spirit, and I know 
it revolutionized my work as a minister of the gospel. 
Many a time since then I have felt, if I had to go back 
to the same kind of life and experience as before, then 
I could not preach. People, who wish to do so, may 
stand against the blessed work of the Spirit in the 
matter of the sanctification of the heart and mind and 
life, but I know it has been a great blessing to me and 
to my service for God and my fellow men, and God 
helping me, I will never deny its mighty power. Xever ! 
No, never ! For — 

"I'm resting now in Jesus, 

I've reached the Promised Land; 
Where e'er He may lead, I can safely follow on, 
For He lovingly holds my hand." 



XVI— TOO LATE. 

When I was pastor of the church at S — - H , 

I found the members, most of them at least, disposed 
to be very tardy in attending the business meetings of 



46 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

the church. I felt it was my duty to change that habit, 
if possible. From the pulpit on Sunday I called atten- 
tion to the habit of getting to the business meeting so 
late as to do harm rather than good, because it tended 
to discourage those who were in the habit of coming on 
time, till finally they might stay away altogether. 
Then I announced that the next business meeting would 
be held at the regular hour and it would begin on time, 
and I added : "You who do not come till one or two 
hours afterward will find yourselves too late, for the 
meeting will be closed." 

Quite a number thought it was mere talk — that it 
would go the same way it had done in the past, but 
they were mistaken. The day came. As pastor I was 
at the church on time. A few others gathered, and I 
called the meeting to order, opened with devotional 
sen-vices, as was our custom, and then proceeded to the 
transaction of the regular church business. In due 
time it was completed, and we adjourned and sepa- 
rated, going to our respective homes. When about half 
a mile from the church on the way from this meeting, 
I saw a certain prominent member of the church coming 
on horse back. When he met us he wished to know 
where we were going. I told him we were going home 
from the business meeting of the church. "Why," he 
said, kw l am just going!" "Yes, T see, but you are loo 
late ! The meeting has adjourned for the day." He 
was awfully chagrined and got out of humor, and said 
some rather uncomplimentary things. But he learned 
his lesson. He was present when I announced the 
meeting for a certain hour, when T gave notice that it 
would be held at that hour promptly. He thought we 
would wait on him, but we did not. I think the plan was 
a success, and I commend it to ministers and churches 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \) 47 

— have your services held at the hour appointed. 
At first you may have a lew to lag behind, bu1 
they will soon learn better, and then the people 
generally will have an idea when to get to church I 
tried the same thing once in another church and for 
the Sunday appointment, and had the pleasure of 
meeting a number of the people going to church when 
I was leaving — and they learned a lesson, too. When 
an appointment is made it ought to be scrupulously 
kept, and the service held at the hour named. 



XVII— A KEY THAT UNLOCKS A DOOR OF 
MYSTERY. 

I was preaching one day in a Virginia pulpit, 
where I was pastor. The congregation was one I knew 
well. My text was John 15 : 16. I had prepared my 
sermon with usual care, for I had been much interested 
in the thought of the text. As I stood in the pulpit, I 
saw in the congregation a gentleman and his wife. I 
knew their history. Her life was a combination of 
sorrow and happiness. She was then filling a place 
of peculiar trial. As I proceeded with my sermon, 
her life seemed to throw new light on my text, till, ere 
I realized it, I was preaching almost to her alone, as it 
seemed to me, at least I knew no one else in the house 
for whom the text had such comfort as it had for her. 
This fact so impressed me and inspired my thought till 
I seemed to see in the text more than ever. The text 
reads : 

"Ye have not chosen me, out I have chosen you, andl 
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and 
that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of 
the Father in my name, he may give it you'' 



48 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

How beautiful is that text, and vet there is one 
word in it that tends to obscure its meaning as well as 
its beauty. That word is ordained, which conveys to 
the mind the thought of some ecclesiastical ceremony. 
Its real meaning is quite different. The Greek word 
tithemi from which we get the word ordained really 
means placed. Now read the text using the word 
placed for ordained — it will open to you a neAv, and 
the true, meaning of the text. Jesus was talking to 
His disciples about the Christian lii'e and the fruit it 
should bear, when He stopped to remind them of the 
fact that they did not choose Him, but that He had 
chosen them lor this life of fruitfulness, and not only 
did He choose them, but He placid them, put them 
down in lite just where He wished them to serve and 
bring forth fruit. Fruit thai should be permanent in 
its abiding value, and all this to bring them lo the 
place of life's greatest achievement, viz.: The pouter 
to (jet answer to prayer. Now read the verse again 
and see it you do not so see it. 

We too often choose for ourselves our place and 
work in life, and our choice brings us grief and disap- 
pointment. We desire an easy place and so often Ave 
choose contrary to God's will, and Hum our life work 
fails. God chooses us to be His servants, and then He 
plaees us in His vineyard, just where He wants us for 
the high ami holy purposes of bringing forth fruit and 
developing character. It is in this way He gets us 
ready for the largest life it is possible for us lo reach. 
With this end in view, He places us, not necessarily in 
an easy position in life, for that might spoil us and 
make us a laggard, but He plaees us in a position 
where the surrounding circumstance's and the work we 
have to do will combine to make us the strong char- 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY V.) 

acters He seeks to bring out in us. You can readily 
see that this is much more important to von and me, 
and to every child of God, than it is to have an easy 
place in life. So when He chooses us, knowing full 
well just what we need to bring us to the highest si ale 
of Christian development, He not only chooses us, but 
He chooses the place and the work and the trials 
which are best suited to bring us to our best in this 
life, as the best preparation for the life which is to 
come. How good He is ! Sometimes we see only the 
hard side of our lot in life, but if we be patient and 
persevere we shall see later, when earth's mists have 
rolled away, and we stand in the light of eternity, how 
God's way was best for us, even our trials and afflic- 
tions and disappointments were designed to bring out 
the best there was in us. 

It is while we are waiting that Faith serves its 
mission, keeping us true to Him and faithful to our 
vows till the best is given to us. 

On the occasion referred to above, when preaching 
from this text, it was the trying, even hard, place which 
He had given to this lovely Christian woman that 
under the Spirit's power illuminated the text till 1 
saw in it the beauty of taking the place He may give 
to us, and then and there, doing our best. She had 
been reared a beautiful and cultured girl, tender and 
much loved in the home of her youth. She had married, 
and so far as man could judge, she had married well, 
and yet the place proved to be one of great testing, yea, 
of severe trials. To us this is all so strange! Why did 
the Master send this beautiful and tender girl into such 
a hard place. It may be that this very question often 
perplexed her mind, but had she known it, she could 
have found answer to it all in the text quoted above. 



50 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

God had chosen her and placed her where she might be 
developed in Christian character, till she should stand 
forth complete in Christ, where she could render the 
highest possible service in the Savior's Kingdom. I 
believe she saw it all worked out for her that day, and 
it has given me joy to feel that she went back to her 
home that evening with all of its hard tasks and severe 
trials, with joy in her heart, determined to labor and to 
wait in the place where He had put her. 



XVIII— A BRIGHT, CAPABLE YOUNG MAN, BUT 
—A FAILURE! 

When I entered the Suffolk Collegiate Institute, 
Suffolk, Va., as a student in the winter of 1871-72, I 
met, not in the school, but in the town, a young man of 
about my own age, who attracted my attention. He 
was a clerk in one of the largest dry goods stores in 
the place. I came to love him very much. He seemed 
so bright, clean, and noble in his make-up, one could 
scarcely help falling in love with him. We became 
confidential chums, and spent many of our leisure 
moments together. Time passed along quickly, and in a 
few years a man of means offered this young man 
partnership in a good business. In a short time the 
new store was the leader in its line in the town. In a 
few j^ears the wealthy man died, and then this young 

man, James E. , purchased the entire business, 

and so went forward by leaps and bounds, making 
money. He had long been a prominent man in the 
church and was generally popular. About this time 
he purchased the site of the old store in which he had 
learned the business and erected thereon one of the 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \ ) 51 

handsomest store buildings in that pari of the State. 
Again lie seemed to go rapidly forward, building up 

one of the largest and most profitable businesses in all 
of eastern Virginia. 

He was engaged to be married to one of the most 
lovely joung ladies, a charming Christian girl, beauti- 
ful in person, character, and life. It Avas about this 
time that he met a dashing young woman who attracted 
his attention. She came from a distant city. He Avas 
infatuated. He forsook the lovely young woman to 
^honi he was engaged. He married the dashing young 
lady from R. He married her, but did not know her 
in her true character. Alas, she was a drinking society 
woman, and it was not long till he was himself a 
drinking man, and then their way was down hill to 
the end. In a few short years she died — died under 
the influence of liquor, it was said. His business was 
seemingly prosperous in a way, but he kept drinking. 
After a reasonable time he was married again — this 
time he married a fine lady, but it was too late to stay 
the tide which had set in against his life — she could 
not check his downward course, and in a few short 
years he died, died under the influence of strong drink, 
leaving his business wrecked and his soul ruined! It 
was an awful picture! The boy came up from an 
humble, but Christian home, and did well in business 
till he took his first wrong step. When he proved 
untrue to the dear girl who had given him her heart 
and life, then began his fall — downward and down- 
ward rapidly he went! When he married a worldly, 
drinking, society woman, he took another bad step. 
This led to the formation of the habit of strong drink 
for himself, and this brought the downfall and ruin of 
his business, of his own body, and worse yet, of his own 



52 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

soul. What a beautiful picture was his young life! 
How it was marred later and ruined, language cannot 
tell. I have written this little sketch, not to reflect on 
the sad misspent life of my dear old friend, but to hold 
up his sad mistakes as a warning to others, hoping that 
some one mar be warned and saved from the folly 
which became the ruin of this bright and capable 
young man. 

I often think of him, of how I loved him, and how 
beautiful was his life in the days of his youth, but I 
cannot stop my thoughts there. Involuntarily I must 
think of the fearful failure he made of life, and how 
one wrong step seemed to lead to the path thai wont 
down. down, down, till he reached the bottom, and died 
a victim of strong drink ! 

SIX never pays! No man has ever been made 
the better, or more truly prosperous by sin. Sin is a 
destroying power. If you lei it work in your life, it 
will destroy you and yours and bring you to your 
grave in disgrace and ruin. The man who trifles with 
a pure woman's love, is bu1 hastening his own downfall. 



XIX— HOW AX ESTRANGEMENT WAS HEALED. 

The best of friends misunderstand one another. 
In the year 1875, I entered Richmond College as a 
student. It was largely through the kind assistance 
of my dear friend, Rev. William B. Wellons, T). D., 
that I had such a privilege. During my college days T 
pursued a course which he disapproved. He urged me 
to abandon it. I assured him that there was no danger 
in it to me. This did not please him. He felt thai 1 
ought to abandon it instantly in deference to his judg- 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 53 

ment. 1 did not see it that way, and soughl to con- 
vince him that he was mistaken. This displeased him 
yet more, and he showed his displeasure very plainly, 
so much so that I retired from his home, feeling that 
he had misjudged me. As I walked down the pathway 
from his house to the street, I said within myself: "1 
know I am true to him as my father in the ministry, 
and though he is now T displeased, I mean to live so 
that he shall be convinced of his mistake." From that 
time he was very distant toward me. This occurred in 
June, 1875. In October of the same year I was ordained 
to the work of the ministry. He was one of the ordain- 
ing Presbytery. I fancied that he was still feeling 
distant toward me. From conference, I went back to 
college, and so did not see much of him till the next 
summer. During the summer of 1876 he was stricken 
with his last illness. He lived through the summer and 
winter, dying in February, 1877. 

During the latter years of his life he had estab- 
lished the Suffolk Collegiate Institute in the city of 
Suffolk. When he was ill he could not look after it, 
and it got behind financially. The annual session of 
the Eastern Virginia Christian Conference met in Suf- 
folk (his home town) that year. Soon after the con- 
ference had assembled, he sent a very touching com- 
munication from his sick room to his brethren in con- 
ference assembled. It was an earnest plea for funds 
to put the Institute out of the reach of his enemies 
who wished to see it fail, and he washed this done while 
he was living. Even then he had little hope of recovery. 
The appeal touched the brethren deeph% and they 
resolved to make the effort to raise the needed money. 

Two of the leading men in the conference under- 
took the work of raising the money, but they failed 
dreadfully. I w r as but a mere boy in the ministry. No one 



54 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

of course would have thought of calling me to such a 
task as raising this sum of money. But his plea had 
touched my heart and mind more deeply than I can 
express. My heart was full. He had done so much 
for me — had helped me when I could not help myself, 
and notwithstanding that he did not feel toward me as 
he did before we had the little disagreement, still I 
was just as devoted to him as I ever was, and when I 
saw the brethren fail in the effort to grant what most 
likely would be his last request to the conference, I 
was deeply moved, and felt that I could not bear the 
thought of having the news go to his sick room that 
his brethren had failed to come to his assistance in 
this double crisis — when the pet enterprise of his last 
days on earth was in peril for the lack of money, and 
when he was standing facing eternity and feeling that 
his work on earth was about completed. Moved under 
such an impulse I arose, and addressing the president, 
I asked if he would allow me to make an effort to 
raise the money for which Dr. Wellons had asked. My 
requesl puzzled the chair. He did not like to refuse 
me, and yet did not wish to see another failure added 
to that in which he had just had a conspicuous part. 
He was one of the men who had undertaken to raise the 
money and failed. With a sort of a good-natured frown 
on his face he gave his consent, and at once I took my 
stand in the aisle, and began the appeal. In a few 
minutes the whole sum had been raised. I do not know 
what T said, nor what I did to raise it, but it was soon 
raised. It did not strike me as anything likely to 
"feather my cap." It did not occur to me that it was in 
any way to my special credit, even in the face of the 
fact that old and experienced men had failed where I 
had so quickly succeeded. Nothing special was said to 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 55 

me about it in the conference room by way of commen- 
dation, and so I simply felt glad for dear Dr. Wellons' 
sake that the money had been raised. 

Before conference adjourned, Dr. Wellons, not 
knowing of the failure or the success, sent a message 
to the church and asked that all the ministers call to 
see him that afternoon at a certain hour. Of course 
the invitation was accepted. True, I was but a boy, 
but being a minister, I went too. I was delayed and 
reached there to find the room full of ministers. Dr. 
Wellons was reclining on a couch, talking with the 
brethren when I entered. As the door to his room 
opened he looked to see who was coming in, and seeing 
it was I, he reached out his hand and grasping my 
hand, drew me to him, weeping, and he said : "Oh, 
Pressley, you have saved my school!' 7 That was the 
first moment it had dawned upon me that any special 
credit in raising the money was due to my efforts. He 
seemed quite overcome with emotion, and I confess I 
was deeply moved, I can never tell how delighted I 
w r as that I had been permitted to remove the last bit 
of distance between us, and that he was again more 
fond of me than he had ever been in the days before T 
had grieved him so. More than that, I was so thankful 
to have given him the satisfaction of seeing the school 
financially saved from ruin, and that during his last 
illness, only a short while before his death. I have 
been permitted to enjoy many things in my life, but 
as I now recall the matter, I was never more delighted 
than in the thought that I had been permitted to come 
to the rescue and that the Lord had graciously used 
me to comfort my father in the ministry in the days 
when his latest sun was sinking fast. From that day 
to the day of his death, he w^as like a father to me, and 



56 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

I am sure I tried to be to him a sou, as I had doue even 
in the days when he doubted me. For once he was 
mistaken as to certain facts bringing great injury to 
me — the event turned out as I had told him it would. 
Yet 1 must do him justice to say, had I gone as he 
predicted, mj future, as a minister, would have been 
terribly blighted, if not destroyed. I thank my heaven- 
ly Father for the gift of such a father in the ministry 
as William Brock Wellons was to me. He was a wise 
counselor and the poor boy's friend. 



XX A BATTLE WITH TOBACCO. 

Like many another poor unfortunate boy, in my 
youth I fell into the habit of tobacco chewing. Like 
all acquired habits it grew upon me with the passing 
months and years, till I was a slave to its power. My 
father urged me to give it up. but I held to it, or rather 
it held to me, For it had fastened itself in my lite. A 
few months before my father's death he gave me five 
dollars as an inducement to quil the use 1 of tobacco. 1 
accepted the money and quit, but after his death I 
again began to use it. The old appetite easily returned 
and I was for a second time a slave. I have always 
been ashamed of having accepted the five dollars as a 
reward for quitting the filthy habit, and then after my 
father's death, going back to tin 1 bad habit. It is hard 
to forgive myself for such unfaithfulness. 

I became a young minister with the ugly habit 
still holding me. It was then doing more than holding 
me — it was undermining my health. I shall never gel 
over its effects entirely, I think. On the twentieth day 
of November, 1876, I gave up the habit once more and 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 57 

forever. I was in college. Friday night, November 

1!), I spent some time in the meeting of the Philologian 
Literary Society. I had a spittoon by me. 1 used ii, too, 
with unusual satisfaction. The next morning as I 
arose, while dressing, I reached for my tobacco, intend- 
ing to take a chew, but before the hand left my pocket, 
I dropped the tobacco and determined never to use it 
again. That was the biggest battle of my life so far. 
For weeks and months I fought a battle royal against 
the cravings for tobacco. It w T as no child's play, but 
by the grace of God I won, and have never used it 
since. 

Is not the tobacco habit stronger than the whiskey 
habit? I met a man once who had been a slave to both 
tobacco and whiskey, and he told me that quitting 
drinking was child's play compared with quitting 
tobacco, and I am inclined to think he was right. I 
know one thing, although I quit the use of tobacco 
thirty-eight years ago, and though I have been 
entirely free from any desire for it for many years, now 
and then I yet dream of using it as in the days of my 
boyhood, and in my sleep seem to enjoy it as in 
the days of the long ago. It seems so real to me. In 
my dreams I often reproach myself for having again 
broken my promise not to use it, and then I am seized 
with a sense of humiliation. It has often seemed 
that my dream was not a dream, but a living reality, 
and many a time I have awakened feeling that I was 
again a slave to tobacco. Then reproaching myself, it 
dawned upon me that I had not yielded — that it was 
only a dream, and at once my shame departed like Hie 
darkness before the coming light of a morning sun. 

One thing I have never been able to stop, and that 
is the physical injury which came to my system as the 



58 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

result of using the accursed weed. It will follow me 
to my grave, and no doubt it will have a hand in my 
last illness, although I have not used it in any way in 
about thirty-eight years. I am humiliating myself 
here to tell this story that I may warn other boys of 
the danger in using tobacco. Do not use it, boys, do 
not, for it will curse your life to your last day. I know 
whereof I speak, for I am speaking out of a bitter 
experience. 



XXI— THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT REBUKED. 

During the earliest days of my Christian experi- 
ence, I do not recall a single instance in which I ever 
heard the word "missions" mentioned in the church in 
which I was reared. Later, while in college in Rich- 
mond, Va.j I was much thrown among the Baptists of 
that city. They were nil on fire with missionary zeal. 
It caught me, and 1 resolved to do my best to see that 
the Christian Church should be aroused to a realizing 
sense of its duty in the matter of giving the gOSftel to 
all the world. The purpose was deep set in my heart. 
I began to agitate the matter through our church paper, 
and from the pulpit, as I had opportunity. Finally I 
took the field of the Eastern Virginia Christian Con- 
ference to raise a sort of a permanent missionary fund 
of Ten Thousand Dollars. For the boy, and the day in 
which he entered upon his work, it was a great under- 
taking. Considerable success followed my humble 
efforts, and yet there was much opposition, not only 
among the laity, but even among the ministers. 

There was to be a large mass-meeting at Liberty 
Spring church in Nansemond County, Virginia, and I 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ Till: W \) 59 

was appointed to speak on Missions. This was aboul 
the year 1878. I was quite young and inexperienced. 
I knew that in that meeting there would likely be some 
of the strongest ministers in the conference present, 
and I knew some of them were opposed to my pet enter- 
prise — Missions. I knew they had influence witli the 
public and I did not. I put my wits to work to see how I 
might overmatch their influence against missions and 
at the same time sustain myself in the plea I was 
making. My resources were limited, but I developed 
a plan and I worked the plan, as I believe, to success. 

What I needed, and needed very much, was good 
backing to support me in the presence of the enemies of 
the cause for which I was pleading. I recalled the fact 
that the Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians of 
the South were all very strong denominations, and 1 
had an unauthorized idea that missions had done for 
them a great work, giving them a large field and a big 
following. I was too small to stem the tide of opposi- 
tion, but I felt if I could get the helping of a leading 
man in each of these three denominations, it would 
marvelously help me. Before the meeting, in which I 
was to speak was held, I wrote to Rev. J. L. M. Curry, 
D. D., of the Baptist Church, to Rev. Jno. E. Edwards, 
D. D., of the Methodist Church, and to Rev. Moses D. 
Hoge, D. D., of the Presbyterian Church, asking each 
to tell me to what he attributed the success of his 
denomination. All three answered, giving strong let- 
ters and declaring that their respective denominations 
had prospered or languished in proportion as they had 
been missionary, or non-missionary. These letters gave 
me just the help I needed — good strong backing from 
influential sources. 



60 FORTY TEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

I went to the meeting at the time set for it, and 
when my turn came, I did my best to present the cause 
of missions. The dear brethren who were opposing me 
did not seem to give very much attention to what I 
had to say, till I introduced the three letters from the 
three distinguished clergymen of other denominations. 
Then they began to give attention. Quite a favorable 
impression was made on the audience, and missions had 
gained rather than lost ground in that community that 
day. The meeting adjourned for dinner. Before the 
hour- to reconvene, two of the older brethren came up 
and asked me to take a walk with them. I did so, and 
when we had reached a safe place from the public view. 
they both undertook to break down my youthful zeal 
for missions, and such "a tongue lashing" I have rarely 
received from any source. They declared that it was 
all foolish in me to undertake any such thing, and 
almost threatened me with greater opposition, if I did 
not cease to present the claims of missions with so 
much zeal. I refused to recanl and modestly and 
timidly declared my purpose to go ahead and do my 
best to win our people to the support of this great 
enterprise, and I thank God my zeal has never 
languished to this day. Instead of missions hindering 
my life work, I am satisfied it has done for me Far more 
than I have ever done lor it, and I am rejoicing to-day 
because the Lord has permitted me to be a friend of 
the missionary cause. In a short time 1 both of the men 
who tried to dissuade me from this great work, left the 
denomination and went to other fields. One of them 
has long since gone into the presence of the Judge of 
all the earth; the other is still a minister in another 
denomination, and I trust a useful man. T am sure 
he has become the friend of missions, or he would not 
have much standing among the people with whom he is 
now associated. 



EXPERIENCES ILONQ THE W I ) 61 

XXII— TOO BUSY TO PRAY AND WHAT 
FOLLOWED. 

During- the clays of my first marriage, I was taughl 
a good lesson, and I have never forgo! I en il. Wjfe 
was a devout Christian woman, and as a minister of 
(lie gospel, I was trying to live a real Christian life, 
at least I thought I was. One morning wile called me 
to breakfast, asking me to come in for family prayer. 
In response to her saintly plea for the morning 
service, in a rather abrupt manner, I said : "My dear, 
I have not time for prayer this morning!" She said 
not a word, but I saw I had grieved her in declining 
to take time for the morning prayer. I explained to 
her that a man was waiting for me to do a bit of plow- 
ing, and I must hurry ! I was not a farmer, for I was 
living just on the outskirts of Suffolk, but I did have a 
vacant lot which I wished prepared for cultivation. 
Hurriedly eating a bit of breakfast without the usual 
family prayer, the man took the horse and proceeded to 
the plot of ground to be ploughed, I going along with 
him. We reached the lot and were soon ready to put 
the plow into the soil. The animal was a spirited driver, 
not accustomed to the plow. When the word to go was 
given, she started, but the resistance of the plow sud- 
denly surprised her, and then she threw all of her 
power into the effort, and went across the lot at a rapid 
gait. When about half way across the lot, the plow 
struck a stump and broke the beam short into two 
pieces. About my first thought was: "Now I have 
time to pray!" I was sharply rebuked under my own 
folly, and it taught me a lesson I have not forgotten 
to this day. When a Christian man has not time to 
pray, he may look out, for in some such way the Lord 
may give him time in a way not expected. 




He v. Edwin AY. Beale 



EXPERIENCES \IA)\(i THE WAY 63 

XXIII— A MODERN MIRACLE. 

So far as I am capable of judging. Rev. E. \Y '. Beale 
of the Eastern Virginia Christian Conference, was one 
of the best men I ever knew. This was not only my 
opinion of him, but such was the opinion of the people 
generally. He went through a great struggle in reach- 
ing the point of full consecration of himself to the 
service of God. He taught school, engaged in the mer- 
cantile business, and perhaps farmed a little, and yet 
he was a preacher. He did not feel satisfied with his 
manner of life. He felt he was not succeeding in any- 
thing. He became greatly distressed, and this con- 
tinued so long that he seriously doubted that he could 
much longer maintain a sound mind under the strain. 
In his distress he went to a private room and began to 
write out instructions for his family to follow after 
the worst had come to him, and while proceeding with 
this duty, he was impressed to decide the matter of 
full consecration. He stopped writing, and asked for 
divine guidance. He soon reached the conclusion that 
he would open his Bible without any effort to do so at 
any particular chapter, and then he said: 

"Lord, if you want me to preach, let me open the Bible at 
the great commission, and if this favor is granted, then I 
mil consider the matter settled, and I will dedicate the 
remainder of my life to the great work of preaching the 
Gospel. ,, 

He turned to his Bible and opening it, his eyes 
fell first upon "the great commission." He was at once 
relieved of his distress, and he went out of the room a 
happy man, rejoicing in his deliverance. From that 
day he became one of the most consecrated, and there- 
fore one of the most useful, men in the ministry of the 
Christian Church. From that day, though he had a 



64 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

big family, he walked by faith and gave his whole life 
to the service of God. 

The miracle to which 1 have called attention 
occurred several years after his full consecration to the 
work of the ministry. At the time he was doing a little 
extra work in superintending the Suffolk Collegiate 
Institute. They were greatly crowded for room for 
boarders. His own home was a one-story cottage. With 
a large family he felt the need of more room, and so in 
view of the need of room for the Institute boarders, he 
determined to put another story on his house. This 
would enable him to help take care of the boarding- 
pupils the next session, and at the same time give him 
much needed room for his own large family. Accord- 
ingly during the summer vacation he engaged workmen 
to remove the roof and add another story. Just the 
day the root was oil' mid the interior of the house ex- 
posed to the dangers of the weather, For some reason 
the workmen dropped oil" for a day or two. I think 
they quit on Monday night. On Tuesday morning 
about ten o'clock there was a very dark cloud with 
heavy thundering in the north west. That morning I 
met Bro. Beale on the streets of his home town. He 
was watching that cloud with much concern. In a 
vshort time the cloud seemed to recede, but did not 
entirely disappear. Again about two or three o'clock 
in the afternoon, apparently the same cloud began to 
rise, accompanied by heavy thunder, and in a short 
while the rain came down, as we sometimes say, in 
torrents. We who knew of Bro. Beale's condition 
were greatly concerned for him, but none could help 
him. The next day I again met him, and asking after 
the damage the rain had done to his furniture, he said : 

"It did not damage me at all." 



EXPERIEN(/:s ALONQ THE WAY 65 

Of course, we were all puzzled to understand how 
it would be possible for a house, will) no roof on it, to 

pass undamaged through such a rain as Cell the day 
before, and we boldly asked him wlial he nicani In no 
damage. He said: 

"Well, the Lord provided. When I saw the cloud coming 
up rapidly, with everything exposed, T was alarmed. Then I 
bethought myself of the Lord as my help. Immediately, while 
the storm was approaching I went into a room and locked the 
door, and then I pleaded with the Lord to take care of my 
family and our household goods." 

And then, hesitating as if in doubt as to the 
wisdom of saying more, lest we should not believe him, 
he said yet further : 

"The cloud came up, as you know, and the rain poured 
down, but it did not rain on my open house. It rained all 
around it, but it did not come within, and we were all safe — no 
damage done whatever !" 

We all knew it rained in torrents. We knew his 
house w r as without a roof, and there was the house a 
silent witness, showing no rain on the inside, and w r e 
could not doubt his word. Manifestly God had an- 
swered believing prayer. There w 7 as nothing for us to 
do but to believe it, for apart from Bro. Beale's w ord, 
w T hich none of us w r ould think of disputing, there were 
the facts, the uncovered roof and dry household goods. 
Truly the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. 
They did in Bro. Beale's case. 



XXIV— HER LAST WORDS ON EARTH. 

It was a lovely day — June 13, 1878. It seems but 
a few 7 short years have passed since then, and yet the 
vicissitudes have been a multitude, and the years the 
time of a generation. It w^as the day of my first mar- 



66 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

riage. Miss E. Addie Everett became hit bride, and 
we began life together. She was the most beautiful 
character I have ever known, but the time of our 
journeying together was so short! In less than three 
years she was called to her heavenly home. The 
precious days between our marriage and her departure 
were so few. Within two years from our marriage 
day disease had set its mark upon her body, and after 
a few months of intense suffering, on January 9, 1881, 
she breathed her life out and went home to live with 
Jesus. She was a beautiful Christian, so simple and 
devotional, and yet as the end drew near she declared to 
her pastor, the late Rev. E. W. Beale, that while her 
faith was standing the testing time, she did not have 
perfect peace. For this she longed and prayed. Her 
heart was comforted when the pastor told her that 
what she then had was grace For living, and that when 
the dying hour came, God would give her dying grace. 
This assurance gave her comfort. Her physical distress 
was at times terrible, but she was brave. She know 
that there was no earthly help for her, and therefore 
she was simply waiting and trusting. On Monday 
evening, January 9, she requested to be helped from 
the bed to the large chair near the fire. Taking the 
seat, she became very quiet. Tn a few minutes sin- 
said: "1 believe T am dying.'- Standing by her side, T 
tried to dissuade her from such a thought. Again she 
remarked: "I have a strange feeling. If T am dying 
I would like to say good-bye to all of you." Again we 
tried to turn her mind from the thought of immediate 
death. Then in a moment T saw her lifting her hands 
to throw off the wrap that had been placed about her 
shoulders, and looking up, as if looking into Heaven, 
she said: "It is very bright, O Jerusalem ! v And her 



EXPERIENCES LLONQ THE WAY 67 

life was gone — gone so quickly and in a bursl of glory 
divine! To me it was the mosl triumphanl death I had 
ever witnessed. It really made Eeaven more real to me 
than any experience I had known, and I went out from 
the scene of her death with a stronger fait!) in tin 1 
reality of the world to come, such as I had never before 
enjoyed, and to this day the memory of 1km- lovely life 
and of her beautiful and triumphant death remain 
with me a benediction and a constant reminder of the 
certainty of coming glory for the redeemed of the Lord. 

"Early, bright, transient — chaste as morning dew, 
She sparkled, was exhal'd and went to Heaven!" 



XXV— BIG PAY WITH COMPOUND INTEREST. 

I was called on one day rather unexpectedly to 
talk to some Christian people. My eye fell on John 
12:26, which reads: 

"// any man serve me, let Mm follow me; and where I am 
tli ere shall also my servant he: if any man serve me, Mm mil 
my Father honor." 

As I looked at that text and thought of its possible 
meaning, I seemed instinctively to feel that there was 
a meaning in it away beyond what I could see on the 
surface. Later I took the text up for study, and the 
more I studied it, the more I became quite sure that no 
such reward would be given to any person for service 
as it is ordinarily understood. 

Think of what the reward includes! The call is to 
service. Some were in doubt, then as now, as to 
whether they would follow the Lord or not. Jesus was 
always plain and to the point, and so He said to them : 



68 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING L1\E 

If you are going to serve Me, you must follow Me. I 
cannot allow you to profess to serve Me and then go 
off and follow the world. This is My proposition to 
you, if you will serve Me. you must come and follow 
Me ? and then He told of the rewards that were to be 
given, viz. : A home with Jesus, and to this should be 
added the honor of the heavenly Father conferred 
upon the believer who should serve Christ. Think of 
it! A home with Jesus and crowned with the honor of 
the Father in Heaven ! It seems too good to be true, 
and vet if we may get at the real meaning Ave shall see 
in it a significance which reveals a reason for such 
glorious rewards. We shall have to go back and search 
for the secret in the Avoids of the text, lor the com- 
mentaries seem not to get hold of the thought. 

As I see it, the secret is wrapped up in that Avord 
servant! Do von know what it means? Most certainly 
you do, and vet it may be that you have not seen the 
depths of its meaning, and in not seeing it, you have 
lost much of the true idea of Christian service. 

The word servant comes from two little Greek 
words and they hold the meaning. These two words 
are: Dia and konos. Dia means through and konos 
means the dust. That tells the secret of the great 
rewards offered. He means to say that if any man Avill 
serve Him, let him follow Him. That is, if any man 
Avill get down in the dust of humility and self-sacrifice 
and do the Father's will, why, he shall live with Him. 
and the Father will honor him. That means service 
indeed, not the mere play of children, but the service 
of blood bought men and women — they who in heart 
really know God. 



Experiences \.lOng The Wai to 

XXVI— MY PILOT AND MY BURDEN-BEARER 

Who is He? Jesus. Ee has never failed me ye1 
in the time of need, and I have no cause to believe He 
will. It is true I have failed Him a great many times, 
which I deeply regret, but I cannot help the past — it is 
now beyond my reach. The future, well, that is in His 
keeping, as is also my life. Only the present is mine to 
use to the best advantage I can. 

Burdens are not usually delightful to bear, but 
burdens have been a great help to me. Strange to say, 
the heavier the burden, usually the more helpful they 
have proven to be. As I look back upon life's great 
highway over which I have come, I get a sort of 
panoramic view of the past. The places I remember 
best are the places where my burdens have been the 
heaviest. The only way I can explain the singular 
fact is that Jesus is niy *Pilot and my Burden-bearer. 
He has guided me through many a dark place and He 
has carried my burdens for me. This has been true in 
so many instances that I do not feel at liberty to keep 
silent, lest I withhold from Jesus what is justly due 
Him. When I was in college I reached a desperate 
financial situation. I was from home and among 
strangers. I had no money to stay in college and I had 
not enough to get aw^ay. With a man of experience 
and business ability the matter could have been solved 
easily, but I had neither the experience, nor the busi- 
ness ability to handle the situation. I simply had to 
stand still and wait, and ere I knew- it, the clouds went 
away and left the blessed sunshine covering me with its 
gentleness and beauty. The lack of money was relieved 
—just how I now cannot recall, but the burden was 
removed. 



70 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

After I had entered actively into the work of the 
ministry, it fell to my lot to carry the burden of a 
personal attack upon myself. A brother assailed me 
sharply. For weeks I knew it was coming. I was still 
young and inexperienced. The men who were against 
me were men of influence. I remember, almost as if it 
were yesterday, how heavy the burden came to be, but 
I remember also how sweel and delightful that burden 
came to be when I realized, as I did before the final 
issue came, that One, the Best Friend of All, was 
walking with me, not only guiding me, but carrying 
my burden. The rest of faith was surely sweet at that 
lime. The issue came. The attack was fierce and made 
before the public. At one moment it did look as if my 
best friends were in doubt as to my being without 
blame. I had but little to do in the way of defending 
myself. There came to my rescue a man of marked 
ability. The Lord took me through it all and when 
the matter was concluded, I do not think I had been 
harmed at all in any way. Really I had been strength- 
ened in the love and confidence of my brethren. Even 
the men who had sought to overthrow me gave it all up, 
and one of them became a warm personal friend. I do 
not call names because I would not wound feedings of 
any friend of the parties involved. No doubt some of 
my readers will readily place this incident and recall 
the main facts. It occurred in the year 1881. In 
passing through this trial I was brought to realize that 
•lesiis could, and would, make the burden itself a 
delightful experience — not that I loved the burden, but 
that He carried it for me, and sustained me in it all 
— that was wonderful ! 

Another time came in my early ministry when I 
seemed directed in a difficult way, in which I fell heir 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 71 



to a heavy burden. I hesitated to accept the burden. 

I round relief in prayer. While praying, seeking direc 
(ion, as to what I should do, suddenly there passed 
over me a sensation, as if in a dark and gloomy moim-in 
there had come a rift in the cloud, permitting the sun 
light to pour in on my pathway. I took it as indicating 
the divine approval — that I should go forward. T hrtd 
no further hesitation. I assumed the burden and moved 
on. Although it placed me in one of the most respon- 
sible positions of trust, involving a great deal of hard 
work, I was greatly helped to bear the burden, to do 
the work, and so serve the brotherhood, and I trust I 
did the Lord's will. I can now see that the road I then 
took led me into paths I have been traveling for almost 
thirty years, and while there have been many high hills 
and deep valleys in the way, I can say to-day in all 
good conscience, "hitherto hath the Lord helped/' and 
as the way opens, I mean to go on till the end of the 
journey is reached, when I hope to stand in His pres- 
ence, having made an honest effort, by His grace, to do 
my best for the cause of Him who sent me to bear bur- 
dens in His name. I have no fault to find of the rough 
way I have at times traversed, for He has been my 
strength, my wisdom, my all. Although I truly feel 
unworthy of His favor, yet the Everlasting Arms have 
been underneath to keep me and to lead me till this hour. 
This seems too much favor for one so unworthy, and yet 
if He gives, may I not take the gift from His pierced 
hand and rejoice? Shall I hesitate to commit the 
remainder of the journey to His loving care? 1 have 
no cause to hesitate, unless in myself I forget Him, and 
undertake to manage my own affairs. As 1 have no 




Rev. Austin Craig, D. D. 



EXPERIENCES &LONQ THE 11. IV ?:: 

confidence in my own wisdom and strength, I tope not 
do that. By His grace I will continue to walk in His 
way. 

"He leadetli me ! Oh, blessed thought." 

♦»♦ ♦»♦ 
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 

XXVII— "AND I MUST DIE TO-NIGHT." 

There are dates and events in the lives of most 
people which can never be forgotten. January 9, 1881, 
is chained to my memory by an event I do not wish to 
forget, although it w x as the saddest day of my life, for 
that day I was called to part company with the wife 
of my young manhood, the most lovely character I had 
ever known. This dark day came while I w r as yet on 
the bright side of thirty. In the great sorrow 7 that 
overwhelmed me, I knew T not what to do. At length I 
disposed of my interest in The Christian Sun of which 
I w<as then editor and joint-owner. Thinking it wise 
to get away from -the scenes of so much sadness, I 
determined to go to The Christian Biblical Institute 
at Stanfordville, N. Y., not as a student specially, but 
to try to get away from my sorrow. I reached Stan- 
fordville March 4, 1881, the day Garfield w^as inaugu- 
rated as President of the United States. For the first 
time I met the sainted Dr. Austin Craig. He gave me 
a father's w r elcome. I took a room in the Students' 
Home, and attended lectures whenever I felt like it. I 
had been there only a few days when news came of the 
death of Eev. Edwin W. Beale, Suffolk, Va., one of the 
most devoted ministers of the gospel and one of my 
warmest personal friends. He was one of the last 
persons with whom I took sweet counsel before leaving 
home. His death had come suddenly, not only shock- 



74 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

ing me, but piling grief upon grief. My own health 
was very poor. I was rooming alone, and did not 
sleep well. Just before the daylight came one morning, 
I was dreaming — that in three weeks from that day I 
would die. For a day or two the dream harassed me 
somewhat, not through superstition so much, but after 
all I did not know but that it might be a warning given 
to put me to thinking. For a few days I could but 
think of it with more or less concern, but as the days 
went by, I soon forgot the dream, and gave my atten- 
tion to other matters. 

One afternoon, being lonely in my room, and recall- 
ing that a young friend at tin 1 other end of the hall 
received the semi-weekly Tribune, I went down to bor- 
row ii for a short while. As I turned its pages, reading 
whatever was of interest to me, I saw at the top of the 
first column of one page a little poem which arrested 
in \ attention, and to my amazement it was headed: 
'\\n<l / Must Die To-night/' Enstantly I recalled my 
dream, and the first thought was: "When did I have 
that dream?" I began to count the days and the 
weeks since thai morning, when I was told (in a dream) 
that I would die in three weeks, and to my discomfort 
1 discovered that the three weeks would be up that 
night. Again I was made to think ! Having so recently 
passed through much sorrow and being very feeble in 
health, it was not a hard matter to impress my mind 
with such a combination of circumstances. I had not 
an intimate friend within three hundred miles of Stan- 
fordville, and so there was no one in reach to whom I 
felt I could unbosom myself for comfort. With the 
dream that I would die in three weeks and the finding 
of the little poem, calling my attention to the fact, as 
it did, and that on the day the three weeks w r ere up, I 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE WAY 75 

went to my room that night and had a talk with the 
Lord, feeling that it was most likely my last nigh I on 
earth. I retired at the usual hour and committed myself 
to the keeping of my Father, and went to sfeap, 
feeling that most likely I should be with loved ones on 
the other shore before the coming of the morning light. 
I had never so faced death before. I had always had a 
sort of terror to seize me whenever I thought of passing 
over the dark river, but that night after meditation 
and prayer I knew no such fear — my heart was filled 
with the peace of God, the kind which passes all under- 
standing, and I went to sleep perfectly submissive to 
the divine will. Not in my life had 1 known a moment 
of sweeter rest than I had that night, and I realized the 
truth of the thought of the poet as never before — 
"Perfect submission, all is at rest." 

The experience of that occasion has been a comfort 
to me and an encouragement to my faith through all 
the days which have come and gone since that night of 
real testing. If at last when I am called to go from 
earth, I may face the reality with the same composure 
and sweet assurance which were given to me on that 
(to me) memorable night, it will be no terror to be 
called to grapple with my last enemy. 

The next morning I woke at the usual hour, and 
my first thought was, "Well, I am still in the flesh — 
God has spared my life to see another day," and then 
with a gratitude which language cannot express I gave 
Him praise for His loving care over me through the 
night watches, and went out with a purpose to give my 
life to His service to the fullest limit of my ability. I 
thank God for the experience of that night — it has 
been a blessing to me at every turn in life. The coming 



76 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

of the dream and the little poem into my life made a 
most singular combination, which it is hard to 
account for — but it was for good, not evil. We say it 
was only a dream, and surely that is true — 

"And yet, as angels in some brighter realms, 
Call to the soul when man cloth sleep. 
So some strange thoughts transcend our wonted dreams 
And into glory peep." 



XXVIII— THE POWER OF A GODLY LIFE OVER 
THE LIPS OF THE WICKED. 

In the latter part of the "seventies" there lived in 
Suffolk, Va., a very wicked man. I saw him frequently 
on the streets. He was a sort of a dare-devil in his 
disposition. He did nol seem to fear God or regard 
man. He was a hard drinker and a very profane man. 
He liked to gel into the barroom with a crowd of 
vulgar men, who like himself, loved the base and the 
low. He had no use for ministers, or for churches. 
Though I lived in the same town witli him Tor a num- 
ber of years, I cannot recall that 1 ever saw him at a 
church, even lor the purpose of attending a funeral 
service. His wile was seemingly a line woman, but 
she could not control him. He lived at the bottom of 
the moral life and would have nothing to do with the 
gospel. 

In the same town lived one of the most godly 
ministers I ever knew — I refer to the late lamented 
Rev. Edwin W. Beale, who passed to his reward in 
March, 1881. One day this wicked man was standing 
in front of a barroom w r ith a crowd around him, all 
giving themselves to their usual pastime, cursing and 
indulging in vulgar jokes. Looking up, the wicked 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W LI 77 

man saw this godly man coming down the streel on the 
sidewalk on which he and his companions were stand- 
ing. As Mr. Beale drew near, this wicked man said: 
"H-u-s-h! Wait till he" (pointing to the good man) 
"goes by." 1 have always regarded thai as one of the 
finest tributes I ever knew wickedness to pay to piety. 
Mr. Beale's life had been such as to gain the respect 
of that wicked man, and though he could not win him 
to Christ, he did win him to an appreciation of a ( )hrist- 
like character in other people. 

If you and I were only as careful as we ought to be, 
as Christians, how much more good we might do. Let 
us try, not in our own strength, but in the power which 
God gives. Let us keep in mind the injunction of Paul 
to the Colossians in his day, when he said : 

"// ye then be risen with Christ, seelc those things which 
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set 
your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." 

If we can live so as to get men to believe that we 
have risen with Christ and that we are really seeking 
those things which are above, then our lives will count 
for something in the lives of wicked and worldly people. 
There is no doubt about it! Such a life is an inviting 
one. The power of the life of Rev. E. W. Beale was 
greater over the life of the wicked than was the preach- 
ing of a regular sermon. D C was awed into 

silence in the presence of a glowing Christian life, 
although he defied the Church and the gospel as 
preached from the pulpit. The gospel demonstrated in 
the life — that is the need facing us everywhere. 

"The Gospel's glorious hope, 
Its rule of purity, its eye of prayer, 
Its fact of firmness on temptation's steep.. 
Its bark that fails not, 'mid the storm of death." 



78 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

XXIX— HOW ONE MAN CHEATED ANOTHER 
AND GOT CAUGHT IN THE BARGAIN. 

While I was pastor at A , I preached a few 

searching sermons on the sins of the community. This 
opened the way for a good many people to tell me of 
what was going on in the neighborhood, and I heard of 
many ugly acts in which one wronged another. One 
I recall specially. It was a peanut-growing country. 
Just at the time for harvesting the crop there came 
two or three weeks of rainy weather. That spoiled the 
peanut by mildew — the hull turned black, and that 
of itself made the peanut unsalable. Of course it 
occasioned the farmers great loss. Only a small por- 
tion of the crop had been saved before the rain. These 
were bright and very salable, but there were so few 
of them. One man in that community (but he was not 
a. member of the church to which I was preaching) 
conceived the idea of selling his bright peas and the 
mildewed together, and in a way to ( ^et first-class 
price for both. The peas were usually packed in sacks 
and so made ready to sell. This man conceived the 
idea of putting an old-fashioned boo gum in the sack, 
then fill the inside with black, or mildewed, peas. 
Then he stuffed while or unstained peas on the outside, 
or between Ihe outside of the bee gum and the inside 
of the sack, till ihe sack was lull. Then he pulled the 
gum out. In that way he put his black peas on the 
inside and his white ones on the outside. He covered 
the top with peas that were not mildewed, and took 
them to the merchant, who bought them and paid for 
them. After the farmer had gone, the merchant opened 
the bags and saw that he was caught. He determined 
to keep quiet and to wait his opportunity, and it was 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 7!) 

not long in coming. The farmer came with another 
load and sold them to the same man, bni before paying 
for them, lie took his pocket-knife and splil the bag 
from bottom to the top in the presence of the farmer 
who had sold them, and then, looking him in the face, 
he declined to take one of them. There was no escaping 
the evidence — the proof of his attempt at fraud was 
beyond question, and the farmer Avent away humiliated. 
That is like another examination which shall befall 
men who have gone wrong — in the day of Judgment, 
when the secrets of all hearts shall be made known, 
the Judge of all the earth will open a man's life, as 
that merchant did the peanut bag, and show us all 
the corruption that is therein, as proof of our folly and 
sin, and as evidence that our punishment is just. May 
God help us to remember the bag of peanuts which 
was black in the center. That is much like human 
character — it shows well on the outside, but inside it 
is black — rotten in sin. 



XXX— THE HEBOINE OF ISLE OF WIGHT. 

When I was a boy there lived in our neighborhood 
what was in our estimation a very wealthy family. 
They were members of the same church where my 
father and mother worshiped — old Antioch, in Isle of 
Wight County, Ya. There were in that family one 
son and three daughters. They moved in fine style. 
They had servants and fine horses and splendid 
carriages. The youngest daughter was, as in many 
other cases, the pet of the family. As the brother died 
and the two older daughters married, Nannie, as the 
younger daughter was lovingly called, became the idol 



80 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

of the home. She moved in splendid fashion. Servants 
and carriages were at her command, and practically 
anything she wished she could have for the asking. 
It was in the days of her happy girlhood that she 
became a member of the church, and as a young person, 
for those days, she was very faithful in attending 
church. Later she married and was still surrounded 
by comfort and plenty. Many a time did her fine 
carriage pass us, the humbler people, on the road. 
Time in its rapid flight was working many changes — 
she could not escape them. At length she was a widow. 
Then all but one of her children married and left her 
in the old home. Losses financially had come. The 
tine horses and carriages and servants were no more 
at her command. I had grown up, become a minister, 
and had been away in another State lor quite a while, 
when the old home church called me to become its 
pastor. I accepted the call, and among the members 
then active in the church, I found Nannie, who in my 
boyhood days was the rich man's daughter, with every- 
thing she could reasonably desire at 1km* command. 
She too had changed much in appearance. Grey hairs 
were then streaking her head, the wealth and luxury 
of other days were all gone, and she was knowing 
what it was to feel "the pinch of none to spare," but 
she was just as faithful as she ever was — regular to 
church and regular in giving of the little she had in 
the way of earthly substance. Meanwhile her posses- 
sions grew smaller, till I saw the day when she and 
her lone daughter would drive down the same road 
to go to the same church in an old rickety cart hitched 
to a poor horse. Others would go dashing by, but she 
never faltered — she was just as faithful in the days 
of her lack of means, as she was in the days when 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE II I) -l 

she lived in splendor, and I believe even more so. She 
could but remember her girlhood and the splendid 
manner in which she lived. She knew that there were 
many in the church that remembered well all of these 
things, but in her adversity she was just as faithful 
to her church as in the days of her prosperity, and 
with all of the changes that came to her life, it was 
clear to see that she had grown more meek and Christ- 
like in her spirit. She had many trials, but they 
seemed only to bring her closer to the way of life 
which is in Christ. She still lives, and to-day she is 
approaching old age, but she is growing old beautifully, 
leading a quiet life, with not much of this world's 
goods, but rich in grace and the love of God. I cannot 
give you her full name, but I call her the Christian 
heroine of Isle of Wight, and I believe she deserves 
the name, although I am sure she would be the last 
to lay claim to such a distinction in the Master's 
service, or to believe she was in any way worthy of it. 
In my experience^ of forty years in preaching the 
gospel I have found few of the elect women who seemed 
to me to be so much like the Mary who sat at Jesus' 
feet and learned of Him the true way of love and 
humility and reverence for divine things, as did this 
noble woman. Certainly — 

"Her children will rise up, (Mid call her Messed." 



XXXI— A FINE RECORD IN WINNING MEN TO 

CHRIST. 

In my early ministry I was pastor of the church 
at Spring Hill, Sussex County, Va. It was one of the 
old churches of the denomination, and it had in its 



82 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

membership some of the noblest men and women it has 
been my privilege to meet in a service extending 
through more than forty years. Among them was 
Deacon John T. Harris, one of Sussex County's well- 
to-do farmers. He was a man of very positive dis- 
position, but slow to speak, and yet those who knew 
him, knew when he spoke he meant it. He was an 
enthusiastic Christian and always took great delight 
in the Master's work. He was specially gifted in 

prayer, and in revival work 
was one of the most success- 
ful helpers. 

As a farmer he employed a 
greal many men at different 
periods to labor with him 
and for him on the farm. It 
was perhaps the last lime T 
ever talked with him that he 
told me that he never had a 
man to stay with him, as a 
laborer, as much as a year, 
who was not converted and 

Deacc Join. T. Ilnrrl* brQught {() 0hrigt 

T call that a good record in the Master's service. 

He was not merely a Christian at church on Sunday, 
but every day on the farm as well. This fad speaks 
for itself in no uncertain manner, in that he won so 
many to Christ who were merely laborers on his farm. 
He lived to be of good old age and having served 
his day and generation well, to the praise and glory 
of God, he fell asleep and was gathered to his fathers, 
leaving behind him a good testimony of the saving 
power of the grace of God through Jesus Christ. 

"Servant of God, well done! 
Rest from thy loved employ." 




EXPERIENCES LLONG THE WAY 83 

XXXII— WHY TOM WAS NOT CONVERTED. 

When 1 was a child there was one man in the 
community who impressed me as specially Dice to my 
father, and I understood they were good friends, as 
no doubt they were. They always addressed each other 
as Tom and John. Thos. J. Marshall, though 
for many years not a Christian, always impressed 
me as kind-hearted and true to his ideals. Be 
would go to church and give good attention 
to the preaching of the Word and to all the 
services, but he was not a Christian. We had, year 
after year, series of meetings and the pastor and many 
of the leading men and women faithfully sought to 
lead this man to Christ. He was always respectful, 
but they could not induce him to take a stand for 
Christ. I have seen many pleading with him to yield, 
but he would not. Years passed on. My father had died 
and I had grown up and entered the ministry, and still 
his old-time friend, Marshall, had not become a 
Christian. In 1885 I became the pastor of the church 
which he attended — it was our old home church — and 
I found Tom, as my father used affectionately to call 
him, still in the community, still going to church, but 
still not a Christian. When I became the pastor of his 
family, I felt that I ought to do all I could to win 
him, and I did try, but in vain. Year after year we 
pleaded with him, but he resisted every appeal, not 
in any offensive w^ay at all, but quietly, as if an impass- 
able gulf lay between him and salvation. If there were 
such a barrier in his way, none knew what it was, and 
so we were helpless. We could only pray for him and 
wait, and we did, but he was still out of the church. 



S4 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

It was somewhere near the beginning of the last 
decade of the nineteenth century, when, to the surprise 
of every one, he offered himself for membership in 
the church. Of course, he was received gladly, and 
many were wondering why he had waited so long. 
He came into the church, was baptized by myself as his 
pastor, and speedily became one of the most useful 
members of the church. I often remarked to a dear 
confidential friend that I had seen as great a change 
in him and as much evidence of the Christian life in 
him, since he came into the church, as in any single 
individual I had seen, perhaps in all my ministry. 
There was apparently something which had stood in 
his way for many long years, but his friends had no 
idea what it was, or how it had been removed. 

Henceforth he took an active part in the business, 
and all other church services. I loved him as my 
father's friend, but now more than ever as a Christian. 
He was indeed a blessing to the church, but no one 
had ever known what kept him out of the church and 
away from Christ so long. 

On one occasion, in a business meeting of the 
church, a case was brought up for discipline. Tn the 
discussion one man said he would "forgive, but he 
would not forget," and as the remark fell from the 
lips of the speaker, Bro. Marshall, who was present, said 
quickly and earnestly, "Brother, that trill not do! I 
know by experience it will not do — for twenty-five long 
years I held a grudge in my heart, and I learned it 
would not do to allow it to remain there, and I put it 
away forever." 

That was all he said, but the secret was out. I 
knew then the story of his long resistance, of his long 
refusal to accept Christ and be saved — he had an old 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 85 

grudge in his heart, and that kept him out of the 
kingdom. When he gave up the old grudge, it was no 
trouble to come to Christ and into the church, for 
when the old grudge went out, then Christ came in, 
and when Jesus was admitted, all was well and 
salvation came to him. 

When I retired from that church as pastor, after 
ten years of service, he was still there, fa'ithful and 
true. From time to time I enquired after him, as I 
had opportunity, and always heard of him as an 
humble and faithful follower of Jesus Christ. Then 
one day the news came that he was ill, and most 
likely ill unto death. I went to see him. Had a long 
talk, prayed with him, and found him so peacefully 
and sw T eetly trusting in Jesus — patiently waiting for 
the call to come up higher. Then a few days later, 
and the news came that he had gone to his eternal 
home. 

May I plead with you, as my reader, to notice 
wiiat he lost by cherishing an ugly old grudge — he must 
have lost twenty-five years of blessed living and serving 
for Christ — the larger part of his mature years 
practically thrown away, or may be worse, given over 
to be counted on the side of the wicked one, and then 
when the end came, he must needs go with only a 
few sheaves — few as compared with what they might 
have been — only a few sheaves to lay at the Master's 
feet as trophies of redeeming love, won in his life and 
service for God and right. 

"Must I go and empty handed? 
Must I meet my Savior so? 
Not one soul with which to greet Him — 
Must I empty handed go? 



86 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

The Christian cannot, must not, permit an old 
grudge to live in his or her heart — it is fatal to the 
Christian life. Indeed such an old grudge will keep 
even the unconverted from coming to Christ — it did 
so keep this fine man away for twenty-five years, and 
they were years wasted — spiritually, forever! Over 
such a life we may well sing: 

'•Nothing but leaves ! The Spirit grieves 
O'er years of wasted life; 
O'er sins indulged while conscience slepr. 
O'er vows and promises unkept, 
And reap from years of strife — 
Nothing but leaves! — Nothing hut leaves:" 

Thank God lor the change that came in conversion 
to Thos. .1. Marshall — and for the beautiful life he 
lived after thai event, eveu to the end of his journey. 



XXXIII- WHY SUCH A BIGH PRICE? 

For a long while I was greatly puzzled to know- 
why Jesus offered such a high price for meekness. In 
His Sermon on the Mount He declared not only that 
a blessing should come upon the meek, but that he 
ithe meek person) should inherit the earth. See 
Matt. 5: 5. 

I wrote to a Greek scholar and asked his opinion 
as to the meaning of that text and why such a high 
price should be placed upon meekness. In answering he 
said, "Meekness means meekness, " but he had no 
explanation of the fad that the meek man should 
inherit the earth, and so it came to pass that I had 
to discover the reason as best I could myself. 

I began my search for the explanation on the 
ground that there must be some unusual merit in 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY ST 

meekness to prompt Jesus to make the meek man or 
woman a promise to inherit the earth. Notice, He says 
they shall inherit the earth — that is, they shall at 
some time in the future, not that they were then the 
inheritors of the earth. The word meek does not seem 
to give any clue to the reason for such a promise, and 
I could but believe that in that word there was hidden 
a reason for the promise. The commentaries were 
dumb on the question. At length I discovered that 
Xenophon, the old Grecian, used that word meek in 
a most unusual sense, but his use of it gave me the 
idea of its meaning as used by Jesus. To say the least, 
it supplies a reason for so high a price for meekness. 
One day while Xenophon was out riding, the 
horses attracted his attention, and he remarked to the 
driver in a casual way : "The horses are meek to-day !" 
Simple as w^as that statement, it gave me a clue to 
getting at the meaning of meekness in the Sermon on 
the Mount. Xenophon meant when he said the horses 
were meek that they easily and readily yielded to the 
guiding hand of the driver, and the old philosopher 
greatly appreciated the fact. Then I saw that the 
same sense applied to the meek in Matthew would give 
us the very precious thought that Jesus meant just 
what Xenophon did, only He applied it in a different 
sphere. He meant that the men and women who easily 
and readily yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit 
should inherit the earth — that idea gives the passage 
a new meaning and shows wherein the merit of meek- 
ness is found. The meek man yields to the guidance 
of the spirit, just as Xenophon's horses yielded so 
gracefully and readily to the rein of the driver. See 
Romans 8 : 17. 

"Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, 
Pilgrim thro' this barren land; 
I am weak, but Thou art mighty ; 
Hold me with Thy powerful hand!" 



88 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

XXXIV— MY FIRST REAL BATTLE AS A 
PASTOR. 

Soon after entering the ministry I was impressed 
with the fact that no one seemed to have anything to 
say of me — nothing good; nothing bad. I was in a 
sort of a dead calm. The wind was not blowing from 
any point. I sometimes found myself almost wishing 
that some one would say something, even if it were 
against me, but they didn't, and I simply did the best 
I could to endure the calm. At length, a slight breeze 
struck me. It was somewhat refreshing, and yet the 
thought that some one was mad — some one was at 
hisi talking of me, even unfavorably, gave me a slight 
hope that I might not always remain in a dead calm. 
The breeze was soon over, but not till it had about 
made me sick at heart. Time passed along and then 
another breeze came. It was even worse than the first. 
1 began to realize that this kind of a breeze was not 
pleasant, even though it mighl be wholesome. I often 
said to friends, if a man would live according to the 
teachings of Jesus, he! would have a plenty of opposi- 
tion to make life lively. As I did not have much to 
contend with, it was clear thai I was myself deficient 
in the life I was living. I had been reared a moral 
boy, under the influence of a Christian home, and I 
had not departed from a moral life, and yet I found 
but little opposition. 

At length I was invited to become the pastor of 
Antioch Christian church, in Tsle of Wight County, 
Virginia. It was my old home church, where I was 
reared. I had been away almost fifteen years, and so 
in a sense I was somewhat new^ to the people. They 
had known me as a child and a youth, but they had 



EXPERIENCES ILONG THE WAY 



89 



seeu but little of me since I had entered the ministry. 
I accepted the call and began work the middle of 
November, 1885, and served them as pastor for ten 
years. The experience of those ten years was indeed 
varied and trying, but helpful. In those days the rate 
Deacon B. F. Roberts, of blessed memory, was superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school and a const a ni help to 
me in the work in my old home church. He was 

gifted in prayer and made a 
fine Sunday-school superin- 
tendent. 

The first year I found 
myself so popular with the 
church people that I was 
myself amazed. I could not 
account for it. They had 
had better and abler men 
than myself, but so far as 
I knew no other man had 
enjoyed such popularity 
among them as seemed 
to be falling to my lot. 
It puzzled me! Honestly it did! I could see 
no reason for it. At the end of my first 
year they reelected me, increased my salary, and 
gave me a fine new suit of clothes, and >so far as J 
could judge every one had a good word for me. T 
was still puzzled — I could not account for my hold 
upon the people. My popularity put me to thinking 
— to real heart-searching. I knew there must be a 
cause for it, and I feared the cause was not so 
favorable to me as a minister of the gospel as it might 
seem at first thought. Over and over I asked myself 




Deacon B. F. Roberts 



90 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

for an explanation, but it seemed hard to give. At 
length I concluded that my popularity was resting on 
the Tact that my preaching was of the kind that did 
not make men and women see themselves as they are 
in the sight of God. In other words, I was not hand- 
ling questions which had any direct bearing on the 
daily living of the people. After much thought I felt 
that I had solved the problem and — it was that my 
popularity had no better foundation than the fact that 
I did not preach heart-searching sermons — I did not 
strike hard at sin, and the people, a line, clever people, 
liked me because I did not disturb them over their 
sins. Having reached thai conclusion, it became me, 
as a true minister of Jesus Christ, to face the issue 
and decide what to do. Alter niueh study and prayer, 
I saw my duly was to hunt up every sin I could in 
an honorable way and expose the wrong of it. It was a 
trying experience thus to destroy my popularity, but, as 
I saw it, there was nothing else to do, and I buckled 
on the armor and did my best. I honestly did my best 
to expose all wrong doings which I believed to be 
common in that community. I did not go wild over it, 
but calmly and faithfully, and as I hope in the Spirit 
of Jesus, told the truth as I saw it. 

It was not long till I discovered a change was 
going on. The people were disposed to lake it good- 
naturedly at first. I think they thought it would soon 
blow over and there would be nothing more of it. I>ut 
it did not work that way. I kept at it the best I knew. 
At the (Mid of my second year, I was reelected, but 
there was not so much enthusiasm in the reelection. 
I soon attacked the liquor business, and then the 
conflict waxed sharp. It was a community well known 
locally for its "good old apple jack," and it was not 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY ( .»1 

pleasing to many to have the pastor attacking the 

business. I kept right on, nailing it hard on every 

opportune occasion. 

At length I concluded it was time to try by a rote 

to stop the membership of the church from having 

anything to do in its manufacture, or its sale, or in 

using it. That step drew the fire and the battle was 

on in earnest. We brought the question to a vote, and 

the church refused to sustain me. My first impulse was 

to resign, but a second thought put that idea out of the 

way, and I determined not to give up. At once (in the 

same meeting in which the defeat had been sustained) I 

determined to give them a dose of their own medicine. 

Then and there, in a pleasant, brotherly spirit, I said 

to the church: 

"I am humiliated at the course this matter has taken, 
but I wish to make an appeal to the church." 

Said I : 

"It is true you have decided by vote to have a wet-wide- 
open church, and that is bad enough, but now will you not 
allow me to appeal to you to abstain from the use of liquor, 
from making and selling it, for the honor of the church? 
Although the church has by vote decided that you can make 
all the liquor you choose, you can sell it, and you can drink 
it, and still be a member of the church in good standing, but 
I appeal to you in the name of my Lord and Master to be more 
careful than ever and do not allow this great evil to destroy 
you and the church we love so well." 

That was a nail driven in the right place — my ap- 
peal made them see the true situation. How awful it was 
for a church to take a stand icith the whisky business ! 
A reaction set in, and I used it as wisely as I knew 
how, and in a few short months my plans were adopted 
and the church ruled the whole business out. Those 
most interested in the "apple jack" side of the question 
did not like me, and they did not raise my wages, or 
give me another new suit of clothes, and yet they 



92 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

continued to elect me for ten consecutive years, and 
when I left there, the middle of October, 1895, to 
become the pastor of the Memorial Christian Temple, 
Norfolk, Va., the church was practically a unit with 
me. At the close of my last sermon as pastor, I was 
permitted to have one experience which I shall not 
forget while I have my memory. It was a rich com- 
pensation for all I had suffered in the loss of popularity 
and anxiety. As I came out of the pulpit that lovely 
October Sunday, having preached my last sermon to 
them, as pastor, the old grey-headed men who had 
foughl me most determinedly in the battle I had waged 
against the liquor business, gathered about me as I 
descended from the pulpit, and, laying their anus 
about my neck, wit 1 1 bears rolling down their 
furrowed cheeks, they said : 

"We did think you were wrong in your Qgh1 against sin 
in our midst, Imt now we know you were right, and we thank 
you for the stand you took and maintained <oni bless you 
as you go from us !" 

When I had time for reflection, I said to myself, 

"Ii is enough — it pays to stand For the truth even in 
the midsi of opposition. The men who stood against 
me in the beginning had been led to see their error and 
at last, they had admitted if. How much better to 
leave them, seeing the truth In the righl light, even if 
it had cost me my popularity with them, than to have 
left them standing in the darkness and sin of an evil 
practice? How could I have left them with a clear 
conscience, if for the sake of maintaining my popular- 
ity with them, I had winked at their sins and pre- 
tended that I thought and believed they were all right 
in the sight of God? But there is another question 
of far more importance even than that. It is this: 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE WAY 93 

It* I had taken care of my popularity Instead of the souls 
of the people, who had been committed to my care, how could 
1 have faced God as my Judge in in the last great day? 

Alas, how great is the responsibility of the preacher 
of the gospel! Of all men the minister should never 
be a coward! Neither should he be a bravado. As P. 
P. Bliss used to sing, the minister should be ever true 
to the truth — 

Standing by a purpose true, 
Heeding God's command, 
Honor them, the faithful few — 
All hail to Daniel's Band! 

Many mighty men are lost, 
Daring not to stand, 
Who for God had been a host, 
By joining Daniel's Band. 

Many giants, great and tall, 
Stalking through the land, 
Headlong to the earth would fall, 
If met by Daniel's Band. 

Dare to be a Daniel — 
Dare to stand alone! 
Dare to have a purpose firm- 
Dare to make it known ! 



XXXV— HOW I LEARNED AN IMPORTANT 
LESSON. 

For many years I had convictions as to the matter 
of tithing, but it seemed I never had any tenth left, 
and so I drifted along without being careful to give my 
tithe. Still I was not at ease in regard to the matter. 
In 1882 I purchased The Christian Sun, the organ of 
the Southern Christian Convention, and imposed upon 
myself a debt to pay for it. I made up my mind that 
I would begin tithing when I began publishing the 
paper. The first month came to an end, and I had 



94 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

paid nothing on my tithe — it took all 1 had to meet 
expenses. Then the second month came to an end and 
found me just so again. I excused myself the best I 
could on the ground that I had nothing to give — it 
took all I could make to meet expenses, and each month 
the expenses either grew heavier, or the cash coming 
in, grew less. At any rate it seemed to me that I should 
not be able to make "tongue and buckle meet/ 5 finan- 
cially. In the mean time T was restless over my failure 
to make any return to the Lord. The third month 
passed and still I had no money — all had been con- 
sumed in the expense account, and failure seemed to be 
coming down the lane fasl enough to frighten me. 
When the fourth month had passed, I still had no 
money for my tithe, and ii really looked as if financial 
failure had gotten nearer than coming down the lane 
— it seemed to me it was coming in at the front door. 
I then made up my mind thai the next month should 
witness the beginning of my tithing. No matter what 
the expenses mighl he. I was going to give the Lord's 

tenth first, and depend on wlmt was left to meet the 
office expenses, whatever might come. This time T 
stood by my resolution and set apart the tenth of my 
income for the month. At once there was an increase 
in business. Then regularly every month 1 gave the 
tithe, and managed to meet expenses on the remainder. 
I kepi an account for this tenth money, so that I knew 
just what was due each month. Strange as it may 
seem, from the time / actually gave the tenth, cash 
receipts perceptibly increased, till in less than two and 
one-half years I had paid off the entire debt on the 
paper, and considered my outlook a hopeful one. In 
the course of two or three years I again grew careless 
about setting apart the tithe, and drifted along that 



EXPERIENCES ILONG THE \\\) 95 

way fop quite a while. The firsl thing I knew, my old 
enemy, Mr. Hardtimes, was coming down the lane 
again. He did not stop in the lane, oil her -he came 
right on toward the front door, as if he were coming- 
in anyhow. Then I remembered my negled aiul 
recalled the lesson I had learned once before over this 
very neglect, and I hastened to amend my ways. At 
once I renewed my tithe and gave it regularly each 
month. Within a few weeks I again noticed my busi- 
ness w r as picking up nicely and my cash receipts were 
coming up to a good, strong mark for me. 

I could not help coming to the conclusion that if I 
failed to do what the Lord had commanded, and what 
I had promised to do, that its effect was quickly seen 
in the downward tendency of my financial affairs. On 
the other hand, every time I met my obligations by 
obeying the Lord's rule for giving one-tenth, at once, 
or certainly in a very short time, there was a decided 
upward tendency in my business. The rise and fall in 
this respect occurred twice in succession, so that I 
could scarcely help seeing what it all meant. Here is 
a danger point — it is so easy to conclude that you will 
give the tenth of your income in order to increase the 
"income" and keep down the "outgo," but that is not 
the idea, and it will not work — if you give a tenth, it 
must be through your love for God and a desire to 
obey Him. That is the basis upon which He blesses 
the giving of the tithe. He cannot bless a selfish act, 
as giving that you might get the more, would be. 

I know that most people feel that they cannot give 
so much away. But are they not mistaken? Was not 
I mistaken? When did I have more, when I kept it all 
for myself and my business, or when I paid tithes to 
the Lord? I must say to His praise and glory, that 



96 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

when I did not pay tithes, but kept it all for myself, it 
seemed to me that I should fail, financially, in spite 
of my best efforts, but when I did what I had been 
commanded to do in the matter of giving tithes, thou 
my business prospered in a most encouraging way. To 
my mind it is not an open question as to my being able 
to afford tithing, for when T tithed, I was always more 
prosperous. When I did not tithe, then I was finan- 
cially pressed- and scarcely able to meet actual 
expenses. As I saw it, it wasnol a question of my being 
able to afford giving the tithe — 1 simply could not 
afford not to givi it. To me withholding was a losing 
process, while obedience in giving, as God had com- 
manded me to do, was the process of gaining. The 
lesson was hard to learn, bul it was worth learning. 
I knew a singular case of this sorl which had a 
peculiar ending. Bro. W. was asked whal he would 
give to rebuild the church al — . Be said he would 

give whai he could make on one acre planted ixl pea- 
nuts. His pledge was accepted. Be panted the acre 
in peanuts. When he harvested them he found he had 
from thai one aero one hundred bushels. Thai year 
iii was soon after the close of the Civil Wan peanuts 
sold al thret dollars a bushel. Thai would make Bro 
W.'s contribution to the building fund |300.00. Be 
looked al that pile of money with regretful eyes, and 
finally he said: "Thai is too much for me to give! 1 
cannot do it!" And with the saying he cu1 the amount 
down to what lie thought would be enough For him. 
Though this man lived in the peanul bell and had a 
good farm, it is said that never after that did he raise 
an al umlaut crop of peanuts, and the general impres- 
sion was thai his failure to do what ho promised was 
responsible for his failure in raising peanuts. 1 knew 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W 1 ) 1)7 

the man well, and have no reason to doubt the trutli 
of the story as reported by others. 

"There is that scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is 
that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." 
Prov. 11:2',. 



XXXVI— JUST GETTING HIS EYES OPEN. 

While living in Raleigh, N. C, in the "eighties," 
I was called to Harnett County in that State to attend 
a sort of mass-meeting in the interest of the work of 

the Church. Deacon Al- 
fred Moring of the Raleigh 
church accompanied me. 
He was one of the ripest 
Christian men I ever knew. 
His presence was a bene- 
diction and his life a bless- 
ing. He was always a wel- 
come visitor. On this visit 
to Harnett County the sub- 
ject of Missions w T as up 
for consideration. Quite a 
number joined in the dis- 
cussion and among them 
Deacon Moring. He was 
then at least seventy-five 




Deacon .Alfred 3loring 



years of age, and likely more. He had been from early life 
interested in church work. One would think that such 
a man w r ould naturally have gotten hold of every 
department of church work, certainly of all the leading 
enterprises, and yet as he stood before that meeting 
to discuss missions, he frankly admitted that he felt 
as if he were like the three weeks' old pup — just getting 



& 



98 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

his eyes open to the sweeping and all-inclusive com- 
mand of Jesus to go into all the world, preaching (he 
gospel to every creature, and to the companion fact, 
the crying need of the world to have this gospel 
preached to all men everywhere. T was thrown much 
with him after that meeting and served as his pastor 
for a time, but I never knew him to lose interest in 
missions after that. The explanation is to be found in 
the fact that he had just gotten his eyes open — just 
began to see, to get a great world vision of the awful 
condition of the human family without the gospel and 
of the urgent necessity to give the gospel to every 
creature. Do you ask, How is it that he had not gotten 
his eyes open on this question long before that late 
day in life? T am not prepared to say beyond a doubt, 
but most likely it was because he had not been taught 
— the pulpit teaching, under which he had lived, must 
have been very defective as to the missionary idea and 
duty. If so, what a responsibility will rest upon the 
man, or the men, who had been his teachers! Pastor, 
take heed what you teach, for some soul may be losing 
the privilege of service because under your ministry 
he has not had a chance to learn what God requires of 
him in the way of service. 

Think of the fifty or sixty years Deacon Moring 
might have given to forwarding the great missionary 
work — think of it as lost to the cause of Christ, and 
all because of a failure of the pastor to teach the truth. 
If this is true in one case, what of the failure to teach 
a whole congregation the great and urgent duty of 
spreading the gospel in all the world? It was said in 
the World Conference at Edinburgh in 1910 that the 
minister of the gospel is himself the greatest barrier 
in the way of the spread of the gospel of the Son of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WA Y 99 

God! What an awful arraignment — the Christian 
ministry standing in the way of the spread of the 
gospel! What a day of reckoning is coining! 

The man to whom we give the gospel may not 
accept it — that is his responsibility, but if we do not 
give it to him to the extent of our ability and oppor- 
tunity, then the responsibility is ours. There are yet a 
few thousands of Christian men and women who have 
never gotten their eyes open to see the facts involved 
in the great commission and in the great work of giv- 
ing the gospel to all men. If we may get the eyes of 
the people opened to see the truth, and the heart open 
to feel the responsibility, then we should have no 
trouble to send the gospel into all the world. All 
Christendom with wide open eyes, with a world-wide 
vision, touching this matter of evangelizing all nations 
would soon do the work, but with closed eyes and an 
unfeeling heart, we shall be very slow to give the gospel 
to all the world. Let us work for open eyes — that is 
the door of hope. 

"Open Thou mine eyes that I may behold ivondrous things 
owt of Thy lawr—Psa. 119:18. 



XXXVII— WHEN I BECAME A PROPHET. 

Once Rev. M. L. H., having occasion to be away 

from his pulpit at — — , — , Virginia, asked me to 

supply for him. It was a pleasure to do so, for I not 
only had many dear friends in that church, but I had 
found my life partners in its membership. There 1 
was ordained to .the work of the ministry, and in that 
church I had been united in marriage to my first wife. 
Certainly it was a pleasure to go among them and 
preach the truth to them as best I could. 



100 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

In the sermon for that day I dwelt somewhat at 
length on the visitation of God's displeasure on the 
people when they are living in sin, and I predicted 
that unless there was a turning away from sin 
on the part of the people soon, God would visit 
them in displeasure by permitting disaster of some 
kind to come upon them. The prophetic like nature of 
the message struck the people as rather strange. The 
service closed and the people went to their homes, and 
the preacher returned to his home many miles away. 
That was the fourth Sunday in March. On the seventh 
day of April following, one of the most destructive 
storms ever known in that section came — vast property 
interests were destroyed, one man was drowned, and 
maybe more. About the first thing I heard from the 
community after the storm was over was a rumor to 
the effect that some of these dear people did not wish 
me to preach Tor them again, because I had foretold 
the coming of the disaster. Really I did not, except 
indirectly. I based my thought on instances of the 
way God had dealt with His people in ancient times, 
and seeing that in some respects certain condition* 
were much the same then, I dared to say that if the 
people did nor change and turn to God, He would 
visit them in a way to make them think, and it came to 
pass in such a short time that it was hard to look upon 
me as otherwise than prophesying against them. The 
prophecy and its fulfillment were indeed a striking- 
coincidence and made many think, as I hope, for then- 
own good. Of course, T knew nothing of the storm — I 
only spoke, basing my thought on the way God had 
often dealt with His people in other days. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 101 

XXXVIII— THE FALLING LAMP. 

The year 1891 was full of painful surprises. [ 
was living in Raleigh, N. C, and editing The Christian 
Sun. We had lost all of our children except Adelaide, 
then about fifteen months old, but frail, having been 
sick most of her life. My study adjoined our bedroom. 
The door between was open. Rev. J. O. Atkinson, then 
just entering the ministry, was a visitor in the editorial 
room. He had been gone only a few minutes, when 
Mrs. B. came into the study, and standing by me, as I 
sat at \\\j desk, with her hand resting on my shoulder, 
talked with me. Suddenly I heard a crash in the room 
where wife had left the baby. It was the sound of a 
falling object, and seemingly breaking into pieces. The 
lamp had just been lighted, and we feared the lamp 
had been overturned, or an explosion had taken place. 
Both of us rushed into the room, expecting to find the 
child in peril. Instead, she seemed almost shocked by 
the suddenness of our coming, and — there was not a 
solitary thing out of order. The lamp was burning, 
beautifully bright, and nothing had been in any way 
disturbed. 

We were much perplexed to understand the 
strange affair. We searched the house to ascertain 
what might have produced the seeming crash, even 
examining the window weights to see if one had not 
broken its cord and fallen, but not one was at all out 
of place. To this day we have never been able to trace 
the strange noise to any cause whatever. We are as 
much perplexed now to account for it as we were the 
day of its occurrence. The whole thing is absolutely 
without a trace of explanation. We could not be 
mistaken as to the crashing noise, for both wife and I 



102 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

heard it at the same instant, and both rushed to the 
room to rescue the child, only to find her sitting quietly, 
just where her mother had left her but a few minutes 
before. In just two months the dear child left us to 
live with Jesus. The superstitious would say the 
strange noise was a token of her death. We did not so 
regard it — we do not now so regard it, but we simply 
could find no explanation of the strange occurrence 
and so it remains to this day — a mystery indeed! 



XXXIX— STRANGELY KEPT FROM HARM. 

In August, 1883, wife was stricken with typhoid 
fever while on a visit to her father's home in Nanse- 
mond County, Va. I had planned to get my work for 
the next issue of the paper so far advanced that I 
might leave the oiiice for two or three days without 
any special drawback. I had told the printers of my 
wish and had asked them to push ahead with the work 
so thai I might leave that evening for Virginia to go 
to the bedside of the sick wife. It was August 16. As 
the day passed away, it seemed to me that the printers 
were working more slowly than usual. I encouraged 
them all I could, but nothing seemed to hasten them — 
they dragged along more slowly than ever. Finally it 
began to look as if they would not reach a point in the 
work when 1 could safely leave that day. Then I began 
to worry and fret with them because they would not 
hasten their efforts. The train was to leave about 
seven o'clock in the evening. By half past five, I saw 
plainly that I could not get away that day. The truth 
is, I was far from a good humor, and in a sort of a fret 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ \) 10.°, 

I gave up my trip, blaming the printers for slow work 
and thereby for my disappointment. 

The next day I heard of the wreck of the train J 
was to have gone on, a wreck in which I was told that 
every person on it was hurt, and then — well, the reader 
can better judge of my sense of humiliation for having 
worried and fretted because I could not go on that 
particular train. It showed me anew the Father's 
great mercy in saving me from danger by not allowing 
me to have my own way. I was heartily ashamed of 
my folly in that I had really tried to override the plans 
which had been worked out for my good — to save me 
from injury and from possible death, for had I gone on 
that train, as I greatly desired to do, I might have 
been greatly injured, or possibly killed. As I came to 
realize the mercy which had been hidden behind slow 
printers, I felt like promising Him to take things as 
they come hereafter, knowing that my Father in 
Heaven can plan for me better than I can do for myself. 
I fear I have not always been true to the lesson I then 
learned, but I do believe it has been a great blessing 
in teaching me to be ever submissive to the planning of 
the Lord. . But the lesson of that incident I have not 
always remembered, to my discredit, be it said. He 
knows my way better, infinitely better, than I do — I 
pray that He may guide me all the way and keep me 
ever submissive to His teaching. 

It was Jacob who in a moment of trial said : "All 
these things are against me." As a matter of fact the 
things of which he complained as against him, were 
then working out his happiness. Alas, how proned 
we all are, Jacob-like, to consider every unfavorable 
circumstance as against us, but it is a great mistake. 




Tbeodorc Roost* veil 



EXPERIENCES ILONG THE WA1 LOS 

We arc told thai Mr. Roosevell has often lamented 
the fad thai he is near-sighted. II is so inconvenient 
to carry with you all the time two pairs of glasses 
and then have to change every time you wish to look 
into the distance, but that has been the lot of the 
distinguished Ex-President for many years. Be knew 
how inconvenient it was, but he did not dream of how 
important it might become in a moment of great 
personal danger, but it was so, for when the would-be 
assassin at Milwaukee shot Mr. Roosevelt during the 
1912 presidential campaign, lie aimed at the heart. The 
ball struck the spectacle case in which he carried his 
far-seeing glasses, deflecting the terrible death missile 
till it made only a slight wound. When the doctor 
examined Mr. Roosevelt's wound, he found the spectacle 
case crushed and the glasses broken into many pieces, 
and then he said to the wounded man : '"You owe your 
life to the presence of your spectacle case in the vest 
pocket." 

Mr. Roosevelt was astonished at the statement, but 
realizing it was true, after thinking a moment he said: 

k 'To think as much trouble as these have been to 
me, and yet they have saved my life." 

And no doubt the same is true of many others— 
the things which have annoyed and hindered us in life's 
journey, we have regarded as impediments, hindering 
our progress, but who can say that in one way or 
another they were not put into our lives for some 
specific need, or to meet the requirements of some 
emergency to save life, or in some way to better 
qualify us for our mission among men? 

There may be as much truth as poetry in the 
proverbial pebble which, falling into the trickling 



106 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

stream, gave a new direction to the flowing waters. 
It is certainly more true in active human life than it 
is in animate nature. Many a circumstance has turned 
the course of one's life in a direction wholly unex- 
pected. I recall an instance which so turned my life, 
whether for the better or for the worse, may yet remain 
to be seen, but I have long considered it for the better. 

It was in August, 190G. I was then serving the 
Christian church at Covington, Ohio, as pastor. Early 
in that month I had received a call to continue another 
year, but had not accepted. I had a real wish to return 
to the South. I had understood, indirectly, that a call 
for my service was likely to come from the Christian 
church in the city of Raleigh, N. C. Whether ibis 
intimation had induced me to delay answering the 
Covington church or not, I am not sure. At any rate 
I had promised to give my answer on the fourth Sunday 
in August. The Saturday before, I kepi looking for 
a telegram from Raleigh, imi it did doI come. The 
fourtb Sunday came, and true to my promise, I gave 
my answer to the Covington church in the affirmative. 

Monday morning I received a telegram from 
Raleigh, extending a call to me to become pastor of 
that church. Had it reached me before I accepted the 
Covington call, most likely I should have given a 
favorable answer. As it was I must decline since I 
had just accepted elsewhere. The delayed telegram 
was the means of keeping me in Covington, and 
remaining in Covington prepared the way for me to 
become the editor of The Herald of Gospel Libert// 
in October of the same year. Had I gone South in 
August, most likely I should not have been elected 
editor. The delayed telegram kept me in Covington, 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 107 

and that fact seemed to keep me in the way to the 
editorial tripod — God's ways arc not our ways, bill 
His way is always best, and while I desired to return 
to my own Sunny South, yet sinee He saw fit to lead 
ine in another way, it has given me pleasure to follow, 
nor would I now, if I could, take any other road than 
the one He may choose for me. His way is always the 
best way, best for the cause we love and best for me 
and mine. 

"I know not where His islands lift 
Their fronded palms in air — 
I only know I cannot drift 
Beyond His love and care." 

We are taught to kiss the rod that smites, and 
truly, though He sent me in another way, and kept me 
from realizing a cherished purpose, yet I have never 
ceased to thank God for the delay in the coming of that 
telegram — not that it suited me at the time, but that 
His way w r as better. If w-e be true to God, He will go 
with us wherever He sends us, and if He is with us, 
life cannot be a failure. 

How beautiful it is to live and trust and walk in 
His way ! 

"A pebble in the brook askant 

Has warped the giant oak forever. 
A dewdrop on the baby plant 

Has changed the course of many a river." 

The slow printers, the near-sighted eye, the delayed 
message — may all be messengers of God to serve our 
best interests in time of sore need. 



108 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

XL— THE UNUSED TALENT. 

While I was editing The Christian Sun at Raleigh, 
N. C, I formed the acquaintance of a lady who was a 
gifted writer. She was a native of North Carolina, but 
was then a resident of Virginia. She was an educated 
woman, a fine musician, and blessed with the ability 
to use her mother tongue with real skill, and above it 
all, she was a devout Christian woman. I invited her 
to write for the columns of the paper 1 was then edit- 
ing. In response to this request she wrote occasionally, 
but the more I insisted on her writing, the more she 
seemed to shrink from the task. I often urged her to 
consider thai her talent had been given her for a greal 
and a good purpose, and thai she ought to use it to 
help the people live a right life. She regarded thai 
plea as implying more than she deserved. She did no, 
increase the frequency of her communications for the 
Sun, not that she did not wish to use her talents for 
the good of her fellow men, 1ml she shrank from doing 
><>. and only occasionally did she use her talents as 1 
had so urgently requested her to do. 

At length I received from her a letter of unusual 
size. Theenvelope was "fal with paper." I opened it, 

expecting to get from her one of the best of the few 

articles she had sent for publication. In this, however, 
I was much disappointed. It turned out to be a private 
letter to me, revealing the fact that she had been seized 
by cancer, and that there was no hope for her recovery 
— that she might live a few months, but at most her 
time was short, and then she referred to my frequent 
requests for articles from her pen for publication. The 
remainder of the letter, as I now remember it, was 
given to a lament over the fact that when she was well 



EXPERIENOES ILONQ THE R L3 L09 

and had the opportunity to do goocj, she had neglected 
ii, and now she was facing the sun-sel of life, and the 
opportunity for service was a thing of the past. I made 
up my mind to use the example of this godly woman 
as a warning to others who may be tempted to do like 
wise. Oh, Reader, now while you have strength and 
time, do your best for the good of your fellow men and 
therein for the honor of your Lord and Master. When 
we think of meeting God in judgment, Ave dread the 
ordeal of facing our sins, but brother, sister, we feel 
that it will be quite as serious to face in the judgment 
our unused talents. The Lord gave you a talent and 
you wrapped it in a napkin and did not use it — what 
sin is worse than that ? 

Do you remember the words of our Lord when He 
said: "From him that hath not shall be taken even 
that which he hath and given to another." As I under- 
stand Him He really meant: From him that hath not 
(used) what he had, the unused gifts or talents shall be 
taken and given to one who has used what was given to 
him. That is right — it is just. Why need one be 
blessed with gifts, if he will not use them well and 
wisely? God help us to do our best with the gifts He 
has bestowed upon us. 



XLI— WHO TELLS THE TRUTH? 

One of the common sayings of man is this: "No 
man can keep the law of God — it is too much for him." 

Suppose that be true, then the Bible is a false 
witness, and for the reason that the Bible declares just 
the opposite. It says we can keep the law, ami if we 



110 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

do not keep it, we are guilty of disobedience, and 
therefore before God we are guilty of transgression. 

Let us examine the word and see what is the testi- 
mony of the Bible. In John 14 : 21, we read — 

"He that hath my commandments, and Iceepeth them, he 
it is that loveth me: and he that lovetJi me shall be loved of my 
Father, and I will love him. and will manifest myself unto 
him." 

That is clear enough. Jesus does expect us to keep 
His commandments, as the keeping of the command- 
ments is a sure indication of our love for Him. Docs 
He not say so? "He that keepetfa my commandments, 
he if is that loveth me," and not only so, but if wo love 
.Jesus that secures to us the love of the Father and of 
the Son thai is just what the text declares, and not 
only so, but if we obey the commandments, we have the 
promise of the manifestation of Jesus to us personally. 
in a spiritual way, of course. So it seems quite clear 
that wo are expected to obey the commandments. 

Not only is it s<> declared, bul the opposite is 
declared. Hear the word in Hie 24th verse of the same 
chapter: 

"in Unit lovt tit me not. i;<<i><th not my sayings" 

That is clear enough. If we love Him, we will keep 
His commandments. If we do not love Him we will 
not keep them. That is quite plain. 

But we are told that the commandments of God 
are so hard to keep — that we just cannot do it. Bill 
that is not the way the Bible talks of this matter. Turn 
to 1 John 5:3, and read. Tt says — 

"For this is the love of God, thai we keep his command- 
ments: and his commandments arc not gru VOUS." 

Now what shall we do with that saying? It speaks 
for itself. It declares that God's commandments art 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 111 

not grievous — thai is, they are noi burdensome. Bj 
that I understand it to mean that the man who loves 
God finds it easy to obey His commandments. The old 
saying is, "Love carries no loads." In proof that this 
is the meaning, John also says: 

"And hereby we do know that ive know him, if we keep 
his commandments." 

"He that saith, I know Mm, and keepeth not Jiis command- 
ments. is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth 
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby: 
ire know that we know him. He that saith he abideth in 

him ought himself so to walk even as he walked." — 1 John 



XLII— HOW A SICK PATIENT TAUGHT HIS 
PHYSICIAN A LESSON. 

I was reading the other day of a physician who 
had never accepted Christ, although he said he wished 
to do so, and yet he found great difficulty in compre- 
hending the meaning of faith. Here he was perplexed 
and puzzled ! One morning as he attended a sick man. 
he said to him, seeing he was a Christian : "I want you 
to tell me what it is, this believing and getting happi- 
ness — faith in Jesus, and that sort of thing that brings 
peace." 

The patient, looking up into his physician's 
anxious face, said: 

"Doctor, I have felt that I could do nothing, and 
I have put my case in your hands. I am trusting yon. 
That is exactly what every poor sinner must do in 
coming to Christ." 

The doctor seemed astonished and eagerly asked * 
"Is that all? Simply trusting the Lord Jesus? I see 
it as I never did before. He has done the work !" 



112 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LIXE 

And that is the beauty of the simplicity of faith 
in Christ — like the sick man giving himself into the 
care of the physician and asking him to cure him and 
then following instructions to the end. How easy to 
become a Christian when we get the right view-point ! 
The sick man cannot cure himself — his physician mus« 
do that for him. It is just as true of the sin-sick soul 
— he cannot cure himself of sin, Jesus the Great 
Physician must do that. The act of submission is jusi 
as simple in one case as in the other. Repentance am! 
faith are the two doors through which one passes into 
the divine life, into the life in Christ. It is repent, 
believe, and he saved, not waiting "to rid your soul of 
oik* dark blot" of sin. Come to Him just as you arc 
and lie will save you, qoI /'// your sins, but from your 
sins, and just as you arc. 

••.lust .-is i ,miii, without one plea, 
Bui thai Thy blood was ^iir<i tor me, 
And that Thou i»i<lst me come t<> Thee 
o Lamb of <;<«! ; I come, I come ! M 



XLIII— REBUKING VULGARITY AND 
PROFANITY. 

It is amazing how many professing Christians will 
permit vulgar conversation and even profanity to go on 
in their presence without rebuking it. To stand by and 
hear purity outraged by smutty stories, or to listen to 
black profanity from the lipe of an ungodly person, 
without in some way rebuking these ugly practices, is 
quite enough to make the hearer guilty with the utterer. 
Does not the presence of evil without our protest 
involve us in guilt? 



EXPERIENCES ILONQ THE WA1 113 

We have heard of children so trained againsl hear 
ing evil words as thai they instinctively stop their 
oars on hearing the lirsl utterance of profanity, there- 
by refusing to have any pari in such ugly manifegta 
tions of human depravity, and thai is right— -we oughl 
not to hear evil words from any source — they never 
help to better thought, nor to better deeds, nor to bet- 
ter hearts. It is a Christian duty not to permit such 
evil tendencies in our presence. It will require nerve 
to give the rebuke. Even more, it will require grace 
to give it gently and yet firmly, so as to do the trans- 
gressor good, and not harm. If we should rebuke such 
a person in a way to do harm, then we commit sin and 
that puts us on a level with the offender. Only prayerful 
preparation can make us equal to such a task. I had 
such a task thrust upon me more than once along the 
way I have come. I was traveling between Kaleigh, 
N. C, and Norfolk, Va., and learning that the baggage 
master was an old acquaintance, I went through to the 
baggage car to speak to him. While standing talking 
to him in a pleasant way, a stranger approached us 
from the smoking car, and introduced himself by ask- 
ing permission to tell a smutty story. The gentleman 
to whom I was talking seemed abashed, but said noth- 
ing. When he did not object, I said in a modest way : 
"You can tell this gentleman, if he is willing to hear 
you, but you must excuse me!" Saying so, I retired 
and went back to my seat in the passenger car, but not 
till I had seen in the dirty-mouthed fellow great embar- 
rassment. I hope he learned a lesson never to be for- 
gotten. 

One morning in the city of Norfolk, I was on the 
street car when a great rough fellow r began to utter 
aw^ful profanity among the passengers. I did not dare 




Deacon Robert A., Hyslop 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE W \) LIS 

to be untrue to my Lord. I felt it was time for me to 
bear testimony and to show my colors, and so I spoke 
up and said: "Please, do not use such language here." 
He quickly begged my pardon and hushed. Those 
present noticed how quickly my request shul off the 
filthy stream. Soon after lie left the car one of the 
passengers, who had heard my rebuke, said: "Your 
remonstrance had a wonderful effect — he had nothing 
more to say." I only did my duty and God made my 
effort effective. 

My old friend, Deacon Robert A. Hyslop, of the same 
city, made it the rule of his daily life, whenever a man 
began to use profane language in his presence, to quiet ly 
but firmly ask him to discontinue such language. He has 
often told me that he had never had a harsh word 
returned to him for giving such a rebuke. On the other 
hand, he said that generally it had just the opposite 
effect, humiliating the offender and bringing a request 
to be forgiven for such rudeness, and almost invariably 
this gave the deacon a chance to put in a word for a 
better life, for a turning away from the ugly habit, and 
for asking God's forgiveness for the evil language. 
Almost universally the embarrassed offender would 
ask to be forgiven by the deacon, and then it was that 
the deacon would say, "Do not ask me to forgive you 
— ask the Lord to forgive you, and then do so no more." 
A rebuke of that sort is likely to put the offender to 
thinking, and no doubt in many instances leads to 
repentance and a better life. On the other hand, if 
we are so timid as to stand by and see our Lord openly 
insulted, the offender goes away feeling that we have 
not much courage, or not much love for the honor of 
our Master. It does good to rebuke in the right spirit 



116 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

the sins of our fellow men when committed in our 
presence. Get your Bible and turn to and read Lev. 
5 : 1 — an awful fact ! 



XLIV— CONDEMNED AND BURNED. 

In the rears 1885-86, I wrote and published a little 
book called Facing the Truth. It was a simple story 
of life, of religious faith and persecution. It took well 
and the people read it with real interest, as well they 
might, for ii was founded upon real life, and therefore 
it was lull of the pathos of human suffering, of noble 
struggle lor truth, and stirring events in church, home, 
and individual life. The book went through two ^v 
three editions and won many trophies for the christian 
Church. Among them one, for which I may be excused, 
if I give the st<>r\ of the conquesl the little hook made 

of his life. 

In Wake County, X. C, there was a family of 
brighl boys and girls, living under the parental roof 
and well cared for, ami yet a! least one of them had 
not become a Christian. The family was connected 
with the Baptist denomination, and while this young- 
ster had noi become a member of the church, when he 
was ready to go to college, he decided to go to Wake 
Forest College, a Baptist institution. There he pur- 
sued his college course and graduated with distinction. 
It was while he was in Wake Forest College that he 
got possession of this little book, called Facing tin 
Truth. It took his attention. Some of his school 
friends told him it was not worth reading, hut he 
insisted on judging for himself, and so he read it from 
the beginning to the ending, and when he had finished 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 117 

it, he declared if some Baptist did no1 answer thai 
book, he would never join that denomination. TIkm 
did not answer it, they did not make an attempl lo do 
so, and this young man was as good as his word — he 
united with the Christian Church, and for years he has 
been a leader in the religious thought and activities 
of the people with w r hom he cast his lot, and he has 
never joined himself to the denomination of his child- 
hood training. He said he would not unless that book 

was answered. That man is 
now the eloquent speaker 
and polished writer, the 
editor of The Christian Sun 
— Rev. J. Oscar Atkinson, 
D. D. Soon after he read 
the book in college, it dis- 
appeared and could not be 
found again. Why it disa- 
appeared we must leave the 
reader to conjecture. 

The little book had many 
a battle with those who did 

Rev. J. O. Atkinson, D. D. . ,., . . , , ~, . , . 

not like its broad Christian 
principles, among them one in Alabama. It 
got into a Baptist family and made converts 
of the young people, turning them away from 
"close" communion. This fact stirred the parents 
against the book. They remonstrated with their chil- 
dren, but it was too late, for the children had been 
turned to be adherents of the Christian Church, in 
sentiment at least. This greatly displeased the parents, 
and on account of this they ordered Facing the Truth 
to be burned, and it was done—the little book went 




118 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

down under the flames, a sort of a martyr to the truth 

of a brotherly spirit toward others of the Father's 
family, but the truth it sent out lodged in the minds 
and hearts of the young people in that family. Later 
we sent the young people another copy free of charge. 
We do not know its fate, but we believe that truth 
crushed to the ground will rise again, and to a larger, 
healthier, and a more fruitful life. Truth may be 
crushed, but it does not, cannot die. 



XLV— SCARED OUT OF MY WITS. 

In the year L890 The American Christian Conven- 
tion met in .Marion, 1ml. I had not before attended a 
session of this body. This year there was unusual 
interest in the "Quadrennial." The union of the Chris- 
tian Church, North and South, was to the front. The 
Christian Church, South, had appointed a Board of 
Commissioners to attend the Convention to represent 
its interests in this matter of a reunion of the two 
bodies. The Church had been made twain by the issues 
of the Civil War, and this was t < » be the first direct 
effort to get together. It fell to my lot to be 1 one of 
the Commissioners from the South. We reached the 
Convention several hours late. The body was in ses 
sion. The Commissioners from tin 1 South entered fin 4 
Convention together ami were sealed well to the front 

in a single pew. Rev. I>. A. Long, I). I)., LL. I)., then 
President of Antioch College, was President of the 
Convention. As a Southern man it gave him great 
pleasure to introduce his brethren coming from the 
land of flowers. Bach man was introduced separately 
and was called on to speak to the Convention. I was 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE U .1 ) 

I 



119 



sitting at one end of the pew. Dr. Long, fortunately, 
or unfortunately Tor me, began to introduce from the 

other end of the seat. As each man was introduced, 
I realized that my time was thai much nearer, and I 
was that much more frightened. I really did not know 

what to say. I had 
made no preparation 
for such an introduc- 
tory speech, and there 
I was face to face with 
a great Convention 
and doomed to be the 
last man to speak. I 
searched my poor 
brain for a thought 
that I might present, 
but at that moment 
thoughts were like the 
proverbial "angel's 
visits" — "few and far 
between." At length 
when there w^as only 
one or two more to 
speak before my time 
the fact that I had 
Virginia a cane made 
old house at 
in which the 




Rev. I). A. Long', L>. D., President 

of The American Christian 

Convention in 1S90 



would 



brought 



I recalled 
me from 



come, 
with 
from a sill taken from the 
Lebanon, Surry County, Virginia 



famous conference was held in 1704, when Rice 
Haggard moved the adoption of the name CHRISTIAN 
as the only name needed by the Church. I had brought 
it along intending to present it to the President of the 
Convention to be kept as the insignia of that office. In 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 121 

almost the last moment before I was to speak I deter- 
mined that I would present the cane then, and let that 
serve as my response to a call for a speech, and I did it. 

Scared almost out of my wits, I scarcely kiiew 
what I was saying. To my astonishment the people 
seemed carried aw r ay with my little effort. I presume 
the cane made the impression, rather than the speech, 
but the people seemed to think otherwise, and conse- 
quently I got the lion's share of appreciation — I had 
made a "hit." It was announced that I would speak 
on Missions that night. The little talk of the after- 
noon, having attracted so much attention, left every 
one on tiptoe in expectation for something fine 
from me for that night. For the night occasion I had 
prepared before I came to the Convention, and behold, 
the night address seemed to add new laurels to my 
name as a speaker. Dr. Staley said afterward he never 
heard so much said in praise of one address, and it 
did seem to be the talk of the Convention. The two 
talks had sent my reputation quite too high for a man 
of my humble abilities, but the people did not know 
much about my abilities except what little they could 
judge from these two talks. 

There was another surprise in store for me, for 
Saturday night it w T as announced that I w r ould preach 
in the Temple (the church in which the Convention 
was holding its sessions) on Sunday night. Eev. War- 
ren Hathaway, D. D., was to preach in the morning. 
He was a prince of orators among our people. Sunday 
morning he preached a sermon of great pow r er — all 
hearts were seemingly melted and lifted toward the 
third heaven. Meantime I had discovered that one of 
the most gifted orators in the Church had been dis- 
placed, (doubtless on his own suggestion) apparently 




- 

Q 



m 

a 

Q 




EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 123 

to make room for me. Thai greatly embarrassed me, 
and 1 tried to get excused, insisting thai the brother, 

originally appointed, should preach, bu1 no one would 
stand with me in the demand, and so it seemed to me 
there was nothing to do but to submit and do the best 
I could. 

The hour came, and I p , no, I think I did not, 

but I tried and miserably failed. My reputation from 
the two little talks I had made, got so far ahead of me 
that I simply could not maintain it — expectation had 
magnified the prospect for the audience till I could not 
make it good. I had not been trying to preach but a 
short time when I realized that I was doomed. 1 
worked hard to recover and maintain myself, but I 
could not do it, and my "feathers fell" — T had lost my 
reputation as a speaker. I gained it quickly and lost 
it quite as soon. I left the Convention, wishing that at 
some time I might have a chance to go back to that city 
and preach once more in the hope of redeeming myself, 
but the chance never came. I was the sad victim of 
circumstances, but no doubt it did me good — at least 
it taught me a lesson — that there is no royal leap to 
greatness for an ordinary man. Of course, the leap 
might be all right, only the humiliating fall was so 
terrible! I have never forgotten that experience. It 
is yet a blessing! It cost me much in the way of 
humiliation, but it was w T orth more to me than it cost 
— so I am in debt to that failure for real help. I 
verily believe a good square failure is a blessing to most 
men — it teaches a lesson our colleges cannot teach. Do 
not mind an honest failure — only be sure not to allow 
a failure to overwhelm you with discouragement. 
Rather challenge it to another test and win out. In 
that case failure will bless your life and labors. 



124 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LINE 

A DIVIDED CHURCB REUNITED* 

By Ki;\. DAVID E. MILLARD, i>. 1).. PORTLAND, MICH. 

Anon the wild winds blew, 
At Length the dread storm came. 
The Union rent in two — 
Brought <<>it<»\v. grief, and shame 

chorus: 
R< ioiee th< storm is o'er, 

I ml /n a& ami foVi noir r\ /////. 
\\'< 7/ work as m '< r h< fore — 

\\t 'it rally now u<i<iin. 

War's tierce and dreadful strife 
Burst forth with savage yell. 
And brave men yielded life — 
Til] countless thousands fell. 

The < 'hnivh was rent in twain 
And ( Christians fell apart ; 
The very thought brings pain 
To each I rue I rot ber's heart 

Sw ill t iine li;is floWH since then. 

As sep'rate i-nt bs we've t rod, 
Our Nation's one again 

And we are one for God 

Let a ll t he w ide world o'er 
K now we are one in i"\ «-. 
Ami never, never more — - 
will st rive .-is we have st rove. 

< Jod h.-i<te i he glorious day, 

When ;ill divided IminK 

Shall i»e as < 'hrist lans say — 

()ne bost throughont .-ill hinds. 

•Of the many religious bodies in the United States the Christian 
Church was the ftrsl t<> <li\i<i«- over the Issues of the <"ivii War, and, 
be it >;ii<i to ii» honor, it was the first of tiu^r bodies t<> reunite, 
although there were thirty-six long and weary years of separation 
between the dividing line and the day of reunion. Manj hearts had 
been longing and praying for the coming together of the divided body. 
In the year 1890, tin- Southern branch and the Northern branch of the 
Church appointed Commissioners to consider terms of union. These 
Commissioners mel and reported t<. the Convention in session a1 
M;irion. Indiana, in October, L890, and the union was effected 
unanimously. Rev. in-, billiard, one of the Commissioners on this 
occasion, wrote iii<' hymn, \ Divided Church Reunited, given above, 
and under the leadership of Rev. <'. v. Strickland, the Convention 
sang it after tlio union was an accomplished tact, a- cementing tin' 

bonds of brotherly love, 'flic joy n»>ils rang! Tl ccasion was one 

never to !"■ forgotten bj those who had pari in it. J. P. B, 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE 111) L25 

XLVI— SORELY TEMPTED. 

Temptation belongs to men and women in the 

flesh! Angels may be tempted, bill human beings musi 
be. The minister is no more free from temptation than 
other men. It often happens that he is seemingly more 
thoroughly tried than other men. It is the devil's plan 
to attack him, knowing that to cause the minister's 
fall will do much more to hinder the progress of the 
truth than would the fall of a half-dozen other men, 
not that the minister is necessarily better than other 
people, but because his fall would so shock the people 
and confound their faith. Temptation is Satan's 
watchword. It was so in the case of Peter, when the 
devil desired to have him that he might sift him as 
wheat. That is the work of the tempter — he sifts a 
man and takes all the good out of him, leaving all the 
bad in him. When the devil has accomplished that 
much, the man fails. It is also true that the nearer a 
man gets to God, the more surely will the devil try the 
power of temptation on him in the hope of overcoming 
his strength and breaking down his purpose to do right. 
I had been in the ministry a number of years before I 
was severely tested in the matter of temptation. 

The sorest temptation I had, till I was more than 
forty years old, came upon me in the most unexpected 
way, and it came from what ordinarily would bo 
regarded as an honor, and yet it shook my little "self- 
life" from center to circumference. It occurred in the 
year, 1895. I was living in South Norfolk, Va., 
serving near-by churches as pastor. One day, Dr. C. 
J. Jones, then the pastor of the Memorial Christian 
Temple, approached me and said that he was expecting 
to retire from that pastorate soon and he wished me to 



126 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



be his successor, and at the same time assured me that 
he was sincere in the thought. Of course it was per- 
fectly natural for me to consider the matter. His 
resignation had not been presented, but he told me it 
would be soon. I felt that his recommendation in my 
favor would go far toward bringing the call to me. T 

was not over anx- 



ious for the place, 
not that it would 
not be an opportun- 
ity for service and 
m u c h usefulness, 
provided I was the 
man for the place. 
On this point I had 
grave doubts, for T 
well knew the dis- 
tance between the 
ability of Dr. Jones 
and myself. After 
thinking (lie matter 
over carefully and 
prayerfully, I decid- 
ed that the thing for 
me to do was to com- 
the Lord. [f Be 
He might bring it 
not so wish it, He 
I felt thai 




Rev. C. J. .loins, l). I). 

mil the whole mailer to 
wanted me to labor there 
to pass, and if lie did 
would prevent such an 



agreement. 



was my best course, and so made up my mind to 
keep my hands oft' the matter entirely. This purpose I 
adhered to conscientiously, and simply went about my 

work, saying nothing. All went well, and I was peace- 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE \\ IV IL'7 

fnl ? and so far as I know, perfectly submissive to have 
the Lord's will done in the matter. Of course, il was 
pleasant to think thai my brethren would have me in 
mind to be the successor of a great man like Dr. Jones, 
but beyond that I was not conscious of any vain-glory- 
ing as to the outlook. 

One day I beard that an effort was making to keep 
Dr. Jones from leaving. There was no harm in that. 
It was just what might be expected, and I was still 
happy and contented to leave it all in the keeping of 
my heavenly Father. If He wished Dr. Jones to remain, 
it was all right with me. But this condition of 
quiet trust obtained for only a short while. T soon 
found that I was a bit uncomfortable lest the offer 
should not come to me. I pushed off the thought and 
would have nothing to do with entertaining it, and i 
thought it was gone, but it was not. Ever and anon, as 
I went about my work, something seemed to keep 
suggesting to me that I had trusted the Lord in vain 
— that He was going to leave me just where I was and 
keep Dr. Jones just where he was. "Well," I said, 
"that is all right, too," and yet I was a bit restless 
about it, and then I found myself involuntarily dwell 
ing on the thought that I had trusted the Lord most 
fully in the matter, only to be left without notice ! The 
persistence with w T hich this thought was pushed upon 
me and kept before me was amazing! At length it 
seemed to get the mastery over me, and I could see 
nothing in it all but that my trust in the Lord had been 
of no avail. Then came the temptation to turn away 
from the Lord in distrust. That thought was kept 
before me almost constantly and with terrifying effect 
for days and days, meanwhile the church was taking 
no action in the matter at all. I had never know T n 



128 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

temptation before, certainty nothing like this. I did 
not then understand it at all, but now I know it was 
the keen work of the devil, trying to break my faith in 
the certainty of the Lord's goodness in blessing my 
trust in Him — in committing the matter to His man 
agement. Think of it, a matter so simple, and vet J 
was literally buffeted by the tempter as never before in 
all my life. In truth, there was no occasion for it, for 
in due course of time, Dr. Jones did resign and I was 
chosen, practically, unanimously chosen to be his 
successor, and the Lord graciously honored my trust in 
Him and made it a blessing to me, and fruitful in His 
vineyard, as I believe. 



XLVI1 LIVING IN A BEAUTIFUL BOUSE. 

In the early days of my married life, though a 
minister of the gospel, in name a! leasi, vei 1 
had my heart mneh set on having a beautiful 
home. I was looking forward to the lime when 
I should own a beautiful mansion, elegantly furnished 
and beautified with many pretty things. I remember 
how wife ami I would watch for opportunities to make 
purchases thai would serve the end of our ambitions. 
My conception of a beautiful home then and now differs 
very widely. Then T thought the lovely mansion, the 
eleganl furniture, the quainl and antique bric-a-bric, 
together with a beautiful lawn and choice flowers- 
Oh 3 T thought these would make a beautiful home, and 
that these would make life worth living — whal a low 
ideal Cor a minister of the gospel! Excuse Iho young 
man, for then his *>ycs had not been opened he was, 
spiritually speaking, very ignorant of the best and 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 120 

highest gifts of God to His children. A little later God 
in His mercy came into my life and showed me the 
mistake I was making. While all of these things may 
possibly enter into a beautiful home, something efee 
must come first as a foundation for real happiness in 
a true home. There can be no beautiful home in which 
there is not a beautiful life, and there can be no beau- 
tiful life where Jesus does not fully reign and rule in 
it, and that is what He taught me. Then I saw the 
vanity of my plan for a lovely home. I was giving 
special attention to the wrong things for making a 
beautiful home as the center of beautiful living — I was 
planning for the feast for the mortal eyes. It was in 
this that God graciously showed me my mistake and 
taught me that the really beautiful life is far more 
than the beautiful home — such as is described in 1 
Cor. 13 : 1-13. If you wish to know how to have a 
beautiful home begin by studying the thirteenth chap- 
ter of Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. There 
you will learn that every beautiful home has one very 
handsome jewel which shines with such a beautiful 
luster as to make everything else in the home shine like 
it, and in that way, no matter how poorly the home is 
furnished with other things, this one jewel will make 
everything else shine in the beauty of the one great 
gem — the name of the gem is LOVE. If the home has 
in it the gem of true Christian love, then you will have 
a lovely and a beautiful home. Try it and see how 
true it is. But where are you to get the one rich gem 
of love? Ah, that is the question, but there is an answer 
to it, viz. : God gives that gem, but only to such as 
desire it above all else, and when He gives it, the first 
thing you will see in it will be the reflected beauty of 
the Lord Himself. Love is like the little dewdrop — it 




!<«-*. II. II. Hutlci 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 131 

holds within itself a miniature image of the God of 
love. 

"Faith and Hope and Love we see 
Joining hand-in-hand agree; 
Bnt the greatest of the three 
And the best is Love. 
Love is the brightest of the train, 
And strengthens all the rest." 



xl viii— the man who started to heaven, 
but was called back. 

In the early "seventies" four young men entered 
the Suffolk Collegiate Institute. Suffolk, Va., as minis- 
terial students. They were all poor, and to make their 
small means meet their expenses, they clubbed together 
and boarded themselves. They were Bros. Jno. T. 
Kitchin, N. B. Mumford, H. H. Butler, and the present 
writer. In our second year together, Bro. H. H. Butler 
wrs taken very ill with typhoid-pneumonia. He lay 
for many days, as most of us thought, at death's door. 
Finally one evening his physician said : "I have done 
all I can do for him." Young Butler's father being 
present, said to the doctor: "Do you think he is dying?" 
"Yes, sir. He will not live through the night. If there 
are any who wish to see him, you will do well to call 
them." 

In relating his own experiences in those dreadful 
hours of physical prostration, Bro. Butler said: 

"I shall never forget that night, for notwithstand- 
ing I seemed to know nothing which was transpiring 
about me, yet I had a kind of consciousness as to myself. 
1 was afterward told that loved ones were weeping 
around my bedside as thev watched what seemed to be 



132 FORTY YEARS^ON THE FIRING LINE 

the ebbing of life's tide. While I knew nothing of 
these circumstances, I was conscious as to myself. It 
seemed clear to me that I was out of the body — that my 
sufferings were ended, that my work was done, that I 
was going to Heaven to be with Jesus and the loved 
ones who had gone before. I seemed to be detained in 
a deep ravine. It was night, and as I looked up, I saw 
the shining stars. They were very beautiful — gems of 
the mid-night skies. I could hear the music of the 
streamlet below me, as ii glided by over the pebbles. 
In the burning fever thai was consuming my body for 
days I had begged for water I could not ( uet enough, 
but now 1 (lid not need water, but some one to show me 
the way to Beaven. I seemed to hear a voice saying: 
'Why do you not pray for guidance?' The impression 
that I was out of the body continued very distinctly, 
and so I thought 1 had no need to pray. Bui I tried. 

I remember my plea. It was: -Lord Jesus, come and 
help me to gel home!' I could hear the gentle breeze 
sweeping over the hills on either side of the ravine. 

I I ere I caughl a glimpse of a light, a beautiful light, and 
in it I saw Jesus, my Savior, I said to Him: *I have 

been waiting for you I want to go home.' He seemed 
to smile, and that encouraged inc. As He drew near, 
I laid my hand on His shoulder. He encouraged me 
yet further by saying: "In My Father's house are many 
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. I will 
come again and receive you unto myself.' 

"Then I seemed to rise, coming out of tin 1 ravine, 
bul siill holding on to -Jesus, talking with Tlim and 
fully satisfied that 1 was going to Beaven. In my 
Might I passed many worlds, and 1 was so happy. We 
came in view of a beautiful city— its beaut v cannot be 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE HI 1 L33 

described — and just then Jesus said: 'You arc not 
going there now.' I said, 'O my Savior, let me go, 
please let me go — I want to go home.' Then He smiled 
and said: 'Not yet — your work is not done. You must 
go back and finish it.' I said, 'But I can't!' He said: 
'Y^es, go back and finish your task — I will help you !' 

"All the while I was conscious of my condition — 
out of the body, as it seemed to me. I looked back and 
knew my body was in the room in which I left it, and 
the loved ones still standing by, weeping. Turning to 
Jesus, I asked: 'Lord, what are you going to do with 
me?' He answered: 'I am going to take you back to 
your room' — then we started downward, and the beau 
tiful city I had seen began to fade from my vision, and 
the grand music I had been hearing grew fainter and 
yet fainter. Soon I realized that I was over the city in 
which my body was resting. I recognized the houses 
as I came nearer, and realizing that I was returning 
to earth, I said: 'Lord Jesus, will I get to Heaven 
after I finish my work?' 'Yes,' He said, 'I will come 
for you when your work is done.' Then w^e were by 
the steps which led to the door of my room — we entered 
together. There was my poor fever-burned body — no 
one then seemed to be present but Jesus and I, and 
just then my hand fell from His shoulder and — He was 
gone, and suddenly I seemed to be in the body. Just 
then I opened my eyes. I was conscious, and there sat 
my dear mother by me, weeping over what she supposed 
to be her dying boy. Looking into her gentle face, I 
said: 'Do not weep, my precious mother — I am not 
going to die, for my work is not done. I know it is not, 
for Jesus has told me so. I shall get well and finish 
my work, and then Jesus is coming for me and I shall 



134 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

go with Him to the Home beyond the clouds, and bo 

forever with the Lord and the loved ones who have 

gone on before.' 

'Yes. I shall know the Loved ones who have gone before, 
And joyfully sweet will the meeting be; 
When over the river, the peaceful river. 
The angel of death shall carry me.' 

u Do you ask me, 'Was not that all a hallucination 
produced by the burning fever?' I tell you frankly, I do 
not know, but this I know, it must have been a wonder- 
I nl fever to paint what I saw thai night. Whether the 
vision was due to my illness, or whether it was really 

what il seemed to be, so nearly separated from the earth 

and its conditions as to be % out of the body,' an 1 so 
ivr^ from its limitation, 1 know not, bu1 I know it was 
a delightful experience which seemed as real as day 
light." 

Personally I can vouch U>\- the earth-side conditions 
given in the foregoing narrative, for through Bro. But- 
ler's sickness, I stood by Imii and did all I could for 
him, as did others. Ho was just as ill, we all thought, 
as mortal man could be and live. Indeed, more than 
once, we all believed he was anchoring his frail barque 
in the harbor of eternal pest, bul God spared him and 

lie has since been finishing his work. To the task he 

has given forty years, and he yet labors on, waiting 
till the Master shall come lor him, saying: "It is enough 

come home, child, come home." 



XLIX A DESIRE TO FIGHT. 

It may seem strange to those who have known me 
in later years, but there was a time, since I became a 
minister of the gospel, when I dearly loved to fight. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG 'Villi U ' w 135 

I do not mean "a 6s1 and ^<u I T' fight. I never did like 

that. L mean rather there was a time when I was fond 
of fighting such people as did not agree with me ; i; 
many small matters of opinion. I do not wish to be 
understood as regarding any portion of God's Word as 
small, but rather men's opinions concerning the Word. 
When I was twenty-seven years old I became 
editor of The Christian Sun, then published at Suffolk, 
Va. I was without experience. I remember when I 
wrote my first editorial, and then saw how much mat- 
ter would be needed to fill the next paper, I felt as if I 
should never be able to furnish it. Again the Lord 
came to my help and the work was done. Later the 
paper was moved to Raleigh, N. 0. In that city were 
two other religious papers published. One of them 
was edited by a man of keen intellect and a shrewd 
debater and a writer of ability. His pen carried a 
sting, and he did not forget to use it when he wished. 
I had not been in that city long till we "crossed 
swords," as we sometimes say. He undertook to rule 
me out by his own ipse dixit. But to that I objected. 
Then cross-firing followed between us almost weekly 
for months, till before I was aware of it, I had devel- 
oped a love for controversy, and then the battle be- 
tween us was a delight to me, though I do not now 
think it was profitable to me spiritually. The battle 
ground between us was over "close" communion in the 
celebration of the Lord's Supper. He claimed that 
the Bible supported it. I claimed that it did not. 
Finally I put it to him to "name book, chapter, and 
verse," which supported his view. He made no answer. 
It seemed to me that he did not because he could nor. 
This fact stimulated me. I then began week after 
week insisting that he should cite me to the passage 



136 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

of Scripture which might be a basis for his view of 
"close" communion. Finally he felt he must meet me 
in this demand, or he would lose his case, so in one 
issue of his paper he made the attempt, and quoting a 
certain passage of Scripture, he added : "Now the 
supposition is that they meant 'close' communion." I 
am quoting from memory and cannot recall his exact 
words, but I remember that he used that word supposi- 
tion in the connection used above. 

Then I took thai expression, "The supposition is," 
and I used it for all it was worth, and showed that he 
bad after all only a supposition to sustain his view of 
'•close" communion. I thus pressed him till he was 

almost desperate, lor he could not presenl anything 
beyond a supposition. He was undoubtedly an abler 
man, but I had the better side of the question, and I used 

it. At the time he was not very Friendly to me, but 

before he was called from labor to reward, he lost his 

dislike for me and we gol to be good friends, although 

the question of "close" communion was still unsettled. 

Soon after this the hand of affliction was laid upon 

me heavily and I wont to the very gates of death, as r 

thought. Slowly recovering, I came to see life from a 
differenl standpoint. I gol hungry tor God and for 
the fulness of Jesus, and in response to my seeking, 

He c;imr in and gave me in larger measure His love, 
His Spirit, and His fulness. Then I lost all of my 
desire for theological battles, although 1 still felt the 
need of contending, even earnestly, for the faith once 
delivered to the saints. That is a very differenl thing 
from denominational quibbling, however. We must 
contend for the faith, but there is little to be accom- 
plished for the good of t ho true Church of Christ by 
contending for mere opinions. I came to »see the folly 



EXPERIENCES ALONG Till! \V \ ) i::T 

of it — saw how much precious time I had spenl in 
trying to annoy another, when I might have been try 
ing to win men to a closer walk with God and to a 
larger usefulness in His service, rather than to dispute 
over "close" communion. I do not think "close" com- 
munion is right, no more than I did then, but it can 
be settled more easily by living the truth than by fight- 
ing over opinions. From that day to this I have never 
had any special love for denominational fighting. 1 
have sometimes been forced to do it from a sense of 
duty to the people with whom I labor, or because an 
enemy w^ould. not let up in his attacks upon some great 
truth of the Word, and then I have felt compelled to 
stand for right, but it was from the necessity of the 
case, rather than from a love of "a squabble." I thank 
God for the cure He gave me for the love of this kind 
of controversy. Perhaps others can, but I think I never 
could have, grown spiritually if I had continued that 
sort of a life. I do not love to fight my brethren of any 
denomination. If they attack fundamental truth, then 
I am ready and willing to do my best to stand with and 
for the truth, but so far as mere differences of opinion 
are concerned, well, I have no love for such a fight. 
God help us to engage in a better service for Him. It 
is a shame for men commissioned to go as ambassadors 
of Christ to a lost world with the message of salvation, 
if they turn aside to mere sectarian quibbling. 

♦*♦ ♦♦ 
L— A STRANGE LAW AND WHAT IT MEANS. 

"For whosoever shall keep the tvhole laio, and yet offend 
in one point, he is guilty of ally — James 2:10. 

Isn't that strange? There are ten laws, if you 

break one, you break them all. That is just what James 

seems to mean, and just what I think He does mean. 



138 



FORTY YEARS OX THE FIR1XG LTXE 



I think I hear you saying: "That cannot be. If I 
break the law against theft, I do not necessarily break 
the law against murder !" 

That may be the way you look at it, but James did 
not see it that way. He declared that whosoever breaks 
the law against theft, breaks the whole law, not only 
the law against murder, but he breaks every other law 



L 



v nrm 



«f% v , t£& ' ljL 




'rhe iirokt-n Pence, [llafttratlng James 3i )<> 

against wrongdoing. This seems <|iiite paradoxical. 
It seems to declare one thing is true, when in fact just 
the opposite is true. Hut thai is so only in ihe seeming 
— it is not so in lad ! 

Let US see if we may not gel a solution of this 
difficulty and so make the truth of that text plain. 

We build fences around our farms and our homes 
to protect the same from intruders. The fence around 
the farm keeps out the animals which run at large, and 
which, if allowed to enter, would destroy the farm 
products. If you build a good strong fence around 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 139 

the farm, do you not see that the breaking down 
of one panel makes it possible for all animals 
to enter and destroy the crops, so making all the 
remainder of the fence worthless? In other words, one 
panel of fence being down, destroys the power of 
every other panel to keep the intruders out. Though 
they are standing as so many panels of fence, they 
have no power to keep the intruding animals out of 
the crops, and therefore one panel being broken down, 
practically breaks them all down so far as serving 
their purpose is concerned. So wdien a man breaks one 
of God's laws, he makes an open w r ay for the incoming 
of any sin. 

Now, that is the meaning of the text. The laws of 
God serve human life in the same capacity that the 
fence serves the crops. The law is a moral fence to 
protect the life from the evils of the flesh. It keeps out 
the bad and it just as truly keeps in the good. If you 
break one of these laws, you open the fence, and 
through that one broken law- any other sin may come 
into your life and w r ork destruction to the highest and 
best interests of life. Do vou not see? 



LI— MISTAKEN FOR A CATHOLIC PRIEST. 

In the summer of 1890, the International Sunday 
School Convention met in Pittsburgh, Pa. I had the 
honor to be sent as a delegate from the Christian 
Church. From Raleigh, N. C, my route to Pittsburgh 
was via Norfolk and Washington. In the latter 
city I stopped to visit an old friend, and while passing 
along the streets a boy ran up and called me "father." I 



140 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

smiled and passed on. I supposed he had mistaken me 
for a Catholic priest, and so he had, but I knew of no 
special reason for it. After I reached Pittsburgh, and 
had been in the Convention, I was going to my stop- 
ping place in the city at night, just after the evening 
session had adjourned. The street was crowded with 
people. With me were a few of my fellow members of 
the Convention. Suddenly a man approached me, 
calling out rather excitedly: "Father, father, father !" 
I stopped to see what the man wanted, when in a 
nervous and excited manner he said some person near 
by was dying and he desired the ministrations of a 
priest at once. As kindly as I could I assured him that 
J was not a priest, and then without another word, he 
hurriedly turned away to look for a priest. My 
friends who were with me much enjoyed seeing me 
mistaken for a Catholic priest. I wondered what could 
make me so conspicuous and so easily mistaken for a 
priest. I began to mention ii to my friends, when I 
was told that two facts were responsible for the inci- 
dent. One was that I was rather stout and had a clean 
shaven face. The other was the fact that I was wear- 
ing, all unconsciously to myself, a hat which had been 
adopted by one of the Catholic brotherhoods. Then it 
was all plain to me, and thereafter when buying a 
hal 1 tried to make sure thai I was not trespassing on 
the assumed rights of any priesthood, preferring to 
sail under my own colors. That would wonderfully 
help this world along, if all would sail under their own 
colors. Let us, like Paul, stand on the fact that we 
are what we are by the grace of God, with no desire to 
seem to be some one else. There doubtless are many 
better men than myself, but T would rather be myself 
than he some other man, even though lie were many 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ \ ) 141 

times over a millionaire, or far more richly endowed 
with greater gifts of heart and mind. To be myself in 
Christ — nothing can surpass that! To be like Christ 
in spirit, character, life, and service — these constitute 
the highest human achievement, to the gaining of which 
we shall do well to bend our best energies. 



LII— BIDDING GOOD-BYE TO THE OLD HOME. 

It was December 31, 1891. We were living in the 
city of Raleigh, N. C. It had been my home for a 
decade and more. It had been the scene of some 
desperate struggles in the face of untoward circum- 
stances. In that city nearly all of our children had 
left us under the blighting breath of the death angel. 
We had all stood by the river's brink — time and again 
we fancied we heard the splash of the boatman's oar, 
and our children went away to be with Jesus. In that 
home varied experiences came to us till they seemed as 
if piled up in heaps — experiences we can never forget. 
But we were moving — it was the last day of the year. 
All the furniture had been taken away — and the house 
was empty. Wife and baby.— the only one left to us — 
had gone to the train, to depart for a new home in the 
city of Norfolk, Va., and in a few minutes I must 
follow, but I could not go till I had taken one more 
look within. That last look gripped me. Memories 
flooded my mind. The ties of years of residence were 
pulling at the heart and I felt every one of them 
keenly. No other family had ever occupied the house. 
We built it, and had woven into it many hopes for the 
life that then was. I must go back and look over the 
rooms once more. I went into the parlor. There were 



142 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

no unpleasant recollections of the happy days which 
had passed. There had been many happy gatherings 
there. I Avent to the dining room. So many delightful 
associations there with family and friends. Then to 
the bed-room. There most of the little family had 
stood face to face with eternity. I remember so well 
the day, when for hours. 1 expected every moment to be 
my last. I thought' of going into the presence of the 
Judge of all the earth, of seeing .Jesus and the angels 
and the beautiful city of God, and I thought of the 
dear ones who had gone before, whom I was expecting 
to meet there. When I began to recover and realized 
that most likely m\ time to go hail not yet come, there 
was real joy at the thought of getting well again, but 
there was also a sense of loss in not meeting with the 
loved ones who had been gone so long. As I thought 
of the faces I should have seen there, each seemed to be 
so real. There was the lamented Wellons. Beale, Man- 
ning. Richard Copeland. my old Sunday-school teacher, 
Benjamin F. Roberts, the old Sunday-school Snperia- 
tendent of my boyhood days, and Adelaide, the wife 
of my young manhood, and main others— 1 felt 1 had 
just missed meeting them, and in this I fell a sense of 
loss, but as the Lord ordered it, it was better to stay 
and serve. Prom .the bed-room, I went into the editorial 
sanctum, where I had done so much of tin* editorial 
work for The Christian Sim. This was the last room 
and when I went out of that room, I must say good-bye 
to the old home for the last time, ai my place of abode. 
In the little room I knelt on the bare floor and thanked 
God for all He had been pleased to do for me, witli me, 
and through me, as His servant. I thanked Him for 
the many blessings He had sent to nie and to mine in 
that home, and then I committed my life and all I had 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE w \) 143 

to Him, and asked thai Be would choose my paths and 
order my steps, and make my life in the future more 
fruitful, and to His glory. Then I arose from my knees 
and bid the old home a last farewell, locked the door 
and was gone. These moments I shall no! forget, Tor 
in them I had seen a picture of life as we lived it. There 
were many things to regret, but there were also many 
blessings for which to be thankful, and memories of 
many joys which we had shared together, and sorrows, 
too, but after all the parting with the old home gave a 
pang for which there is no compensation except the 
hope of the everlasting home ki beyond the river." A 
Christian home on earth is a type of the home above. 
When one has no love for the earthly home, that is an 
evil prophecy of the future of that soul. 

"The home, a spot on earth, supremely blest — 
A dearer, sweeter, spot than all the rest." 



LIII— A TRYING SITUATION. 

When I succeeded the late Rev. 0. J. Jones, D. I).. 
as pastor of the Memorial Christian Temple, Norfolk. 
Va., I felt I had the most trying and critical situation 
of my life on my hands. He was not only a man of 
marked ability, but he was a pulpit orator of much 
renown. My first thought was, the people will never 
come to hear me preach after having listene 1 to Dr. 
Jones so long, for I knew full Avell that I had no such 
pulpit ability as he had. At best I was but a plain 
preacher of the Word. The thought of how the people 
would so quickly see the difference oppressed me. I 
knew that failure then and there would mean great 
loss to the church and would practically be my undoing 
as a preacher, perhaps for the remainder of my life. 



144 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIR1XG LIXE 

I did what I thought was my best in the way of 
pulpit preparation under the circumstances, but with 
the distance between myself and Dr. Jones so great, I 
could not depend on my best as a means of keeping up 
the attendance of the people upon our regular services. 
I was sorely tempted to resort to novelties as a means 
to this end, but I had no confidence in novel methods 
for permanency of interest. I thought I saw that my 
only help was in the Lord — I must dej>end on Him to 
keep up my congregations or I must fail. Often during 
the week I not only asked the Lord to help me in 
preparing for the pulpit, but to send the people there 
to hear the message which He might be pleased to give 
through me. Many a time I went into the pulpit, and 
on taking my seat and racing the audience, it seemed 
to me thai very few were in the pews. Then I would 
begin to pray in secret to the Lord, asking Him to send 
the people. I knew full well thai my only Iiojk* was 
in His power. [f He did not make the message 
effective^ if He did not bring the people, then the tide 
would go against me. I promised Him, more than 
once, if He would give nie the message and send the 
people, I would do my best to deliver it in the name of 
His Son. Jesus Christ. 

Strange as it may seem there was at no time any 
perceptible decline in the attendance upon our services 

— the congregations kept up, even gained, both in point 
of numbers and interest. I knew then, as I know now. 
it could not be due to any powers residing in me, for 
I was very deficient as the successor of the former 
gifted and eloquent pastor, and so 1 have always given 
the credit and the praise to the Lord for keeping, and 
even increasing, the attendance, thus giving me one of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WA\ L45 

the best opportunities of my life for service in tli<> 
cause of Christ. 

Considering the pulpit eloquence of my predeces- 
sor and the very plain manner of my own pulpil work, 
some very remarkable things occurred. The attention 
was practically always good, but at times it was 
intense. I recall one instance of this intense attention. 
I have forgotten what the text was and cannot now 
recall even an outline of # the sermon, but while I was 
preaching, the fire bells for the city rang, and in a few 
minutes we heard the fire department passing the 
church door, but no one moved. Then almost instantly 
we realized that the department had stopped within a 
a few doors of the church. T was expecting every 
moment to have my congregation break for the door, 
especially after we knew the fire was so near us. In a 
minute or two later some one put his head in at the 
door and said: "Mr. J — , your house is afire/' Then [ 
felt sure the congregation w T ould leave the service, but 
Mr. J — only got up and left — every other man, woman, 
and child remaining. Do you think I take the credit 
to myself for holding that congregation under those 
circumstances? Most certainly I do not. Only the 
Lord could have done that. Perhaps you may ask, 
"But why did He do that ?" I know of but one reason, 
viz. : His trusting servant had committed the matter to 
Him, rather than taking the responsibility upon him- 
self, and the Lord never disappoints even the faith 
which is as a grain of mustard seed. How wonderfully 
the Lord works and when He works no man can hinder ! 
Surely — 

"Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is 
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." — Is. 26:3. 



146 



FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 



A POINTED QUESTION 

'•can two walk together except they be agreed?" 

That was the startling question God put at Israel through 
the Prophet Amos. We think lie is putting that question to 
His people to-day. Can the Church and the world walk 
together, the one in fellowship with the other? Nay! Nay! 
Vice and Virtue, Truth and Error, Light and Darkness 




are, and must forever be, opposites. The two cannot and will 
not mix. A hog Loves and delights to plunge Into mud, as in 
our picture; a sheep Loves and seeks green pastures, it is 
unseemly that a sheep and a bog should be yoked together 
as in the picture, but do more so than thai a Christian should 
go around yoked with men of the world. <hm1 help His people 

to coi nt from darkness and be separate from the world by 

Living in the \\^\\\ of Jesus. Break the yoke which hinds 
Christians and men of the world together. "Be ye not 
unequally yoked together." 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 147 

LIV— HOW THE SPIRIT SHOWS US OUR SINS. 

While I was editing The Christian Sun at Raleigh, 
N. C, I committed a sin and therein wronged, not 
only myself and the cause for which I was laboring, 
but I grieved the Spirit, and of course, my own use- 
fulness was cut short. For the good it may do in 
helping others, I will make confession of the act and 
tell what it was. 

[ purchased The Christian Sun July 15, 1882. I 
borrowed the money to pay for it. Being then just 
thirty years old, I had not saved enough money to 
make such a purchase. I went to work with all the 
vim I could command to pay the borrowed money. 
For quite a while it was "nip and tuck" with me — 
hard to clear anything, but in a few months the tide 
turned, so that by January 1, 1884, I had strong hopes 
of paying out the entire indebtedness on the paper. 
As the paper would be forty years old in February 
following, I set my mark to pay the last dollar of debt 
on the paper by February IT— its fortieth anniversary. 
To this end I did my best, working day and night, 
February 16 came and I lacked $250.00 of having 
enough to pay out. I went home that night with a 
heavy heart, and for the reason that one of the 
ambitions of my heart had fallen. I had said to some 
of my friends in rather a facetious way, that even 
Moses got out of the wilderness in forty years, and 1 
did feel that The Christian Sun ought to get out of 
debt in that length of time. On the morning of Febru- 
ary 17, I went to the office heavy hearted because 1 
had failed in my purpose to pay out of debt, as I 
had planned. I went to the post-office, and on opening 
my lock-box, I saw I had a very light mail. I think 



148 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

there were less than one-half dozen letters. I opened 
them before leaving the office, and to my great surprise 
I found in one letter a cheek for enough to pay the 
last dollar on the paper. I cannot tell now, after the 
lapse of more than twenty-five years, the emotions 
which thrilled my being at that moment. I was so 
delighted to see the debt paid off — there was real joy 
in taking up the last note against me, and I went 
on my way truly rejoicing. 1 did not know any better 
than to give the brotherhood the privilege of rejoicing 
with me in the blessed victory. T thought they, loo. 
would feel almost as happy ;is myself — that they would 
then feel like going to work to make the paper a 
great success, seeing I had cleared it of debt, but in 
this I was doomed to disappointment. Instead of 
rejoicing with me. I round a strange lethargy seizing 
them. They seemed to feel thai the paper was safe 
and hence no particular need to push ils circulation. 
Then I found there was an idea abroad (hat I was 
making money on the paper. This was followed with 
yet greater indifference to the circulation. it was 
not long till it seemed to me thai I should fail, 
financially, in the face of my best efforts lo meet 
expenses, and I could not rally the brethren lo the 
support of the paper. The most humiliating thought 
that ever faced me, while editing and publishing The 
tiiut. was that of financial failure. To avoid ii, I 
did my best in every way 1 knew, and still, the 
inevitable seemed close a( hand. 1 saw nothing else 
lo do but to make a plain statement to the brotherhood 
and tell them the plain truth — that unless they would 
speedily come to my help and so increase the sub- 
scription list, I should be compelled lo fail financially. 
This was a most humiliating thing to do, especially 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ 1 I L49 

after I had been so successful in clearing the debt, 
but I did it, and soon the brotherhood came to my 
help, and again the paper was financially no! strong, 
but easy. The strain of the strenuous days in paying 
for the paper, and then in steering it through the later 
period of financial danger, had aboul destroyed my 
strength. It was the beginning of a nervous collapse, 
which reached a crisis in 1891 — from which I recovered 
very slowly, so much so that within eight or ten 
months, I sold the paper and retired, going into the 
pastorate again. The relief was great, but I have 
never fully recovered my physical strength. 

Soon after entering again the work of the pastorate, 
the Lord graciously gave me a larger spiritual 
experience than I had ever known. As best I could 
understand it, He had given me what we sometimes 
call the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or sanctification 
of the heart and mind, for His service. Whatever 
others may think about it, I know it brought to my 
life a great change. The Christian life had suddenly 
come to mean more to me, far more than it had ever 
meant to me before. I had greater delight in 
preaching the Word and in living it. One brother said 
I was crazy. That did not disturb me, for I had 
every reason to believe that I was never more sane 
than at that time. The Bible did seem to me to be a 
new book. Every paragraph seemed to be ablaze w T ith 
a new light for my heart and mind. It was indeed a 
joy to live and to serve. 

A little later I met the brother w r ho had said I 
was crazy. I asked him if he said it. He admitted 
having said it, but declared he meant no harm. That 
was not right. It would be a poor excuse if one 
should knock a fellowman down, and then by way of 



150 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING L1XE 

excusing' himself, should say: "Well, 1 did knock 
you down, but I meant no harm." Prejudice never 
acts under a strict sense of justice. Such injuries 
cannot be atoned for by saying: "Oh, I did it, but 
1 meant no harm!" The injured one can bear it, but 
what of the transgressor ? ('an he endure his sin? 

dust then there came the greatest surprise of my 
life as to personal experiences. In some way, I do 
not know just how, I was led to think much of my 
life and work as editor of The Christian Sun, when 
suddenly I found myself dwelling a good deal on the 
narrow escape I had from financial failure during 
the time, as indicated above. Then for the first time 
I was led to sec a sin I had committed in those days 
of anxiety over the dread of financial failure — it was 
this: I had dreaded failure because of the stigma 
it would place upon me as a man and minister. The 
thought ol* having to be looked upon by brethren as a 
financial failure was crushing to me, but the dread 

of the injury to the cause of Christ as the result of 
my failure 1 did not seem to concern me. In fact, 1 
did not look at the matter from that standpoint. 
When the Holy Spirit came into my heart and 
mind, illuminating my perception, I soon saw that 
my dread of financial failure was purely selfish, and 
therefore it was a sin to me, not that a reasonable 
dread of financial failure was wrong, but that my 
dread of it was for my own sake rather than for the 
sake of the cause of Chrisl and Mis Church and the 
souls of men. 

With the coming of a knowledge of the wrong, I 
trust I truly repented and so was permitted to have 
a larger degree of the Spirit's fulness and power for 
my work. Certainly it taught me a lesson, viz.: The 



EXPERIENCES I LONG THE \\ I I 



15 J 



motive entering into one's action determines the 

character of the action and gauges its moral purity. 
The act of dreading financial failure was right, bu1 the 
motive which prompted it was selfish and therefore 
wrong. A motive may be always safely counted wrong, 
if you act upon it in the presence, but independent of 
a higher motive. That was the point of my sin in I lie 
dread of financial failure. 



LV— UNQUESTIONED LOYALTY AND THE 

LITTLE BLACK DOG. 

In the "nineties" of the last century, I was pastor 

of the Berea Christian church, Norfolk County, Ya. Its 

membership was made up of as good, plain, and honest 

people as you will ordinar- 
ily find. Of course, it was 
there, as in other places, 
there were some unfaithful 
ones and some who served 
to hinder the progress of 
the work, but the great 
majority of the church 
members were, so far as 1 
could judge, excellent peo- 
ple, but not highly edu- 
cated. They were generous 
and very kind. Among the 

Deacon Wesley Hall memberS was DeacOU Wes- 

ley Hall, as I think, one of the best of men. It was 
a real help to visit him and hear him talk of the 
goodness of God. 

On one occasion we were discussing the condition 
of the church, especially the condition of the careless 




3 52 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

ones. He lamented their indifference and their lack 
of loyalty to God, and then turning apparently from 
the subject, he said : 

"I can take my dinner basket and walk till noon and my 
little black dog will follow me faithfully. At noon I may seat 
myself and eat my dinner, and then continue my journey, 
never having offered the dog a bite, but he will not desert me 
— he will follow me just as closely as if I had fed him, and I 
believe I could repeat the experiment day by day, and yet he 
would follow me till he would fall from starvation. That," 
said he, "is what I call loyalty worthy of any man or woman, 
but there are many in the church whose loyalty would suffer 
terribly in comparison with that of the little black dog." 

And Deacon Hall was right — the loyalty of the 
poor dog in many instances would put to shame the 
loyalty of many so-called church members. Think of 
it ! A poor dog following his master till he starves to 
death, and that while the master feeds himself, but 
gives the dog nothing, while there are many men and 
women, well dressed, well housed, and well ted, and it 
all comes io them as the gifl of God, and yd they 
follow ihe Lord alar oil', and often follow the wicked 
one rather than follow Him from whom every good and 
perfect gifl conies, and yet they call themselves Chris- 
tians. Beside the devotion of the little dog, such dis- 
loyalty is as mud by the side of a diamond— il should 
not be named! God help the poor, imlitferent church 
member to be awakened, to see himself, or herself, as 
in truth he is seen in the sight of Clod. 



LVI— AN UNMATCHED SCENE IN THE TAR- 
HEEL STATE. 

It was during the "eighties" of the last century. 
I was living in the city of Raleigh, N. C. — known as 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 153 

•'The City of Oaks," and famed for its beauty, intelli- 
gence, and wealth. 

The Civil War had long since passed into history, 
and many of the bitter struggles and heart-aches of 
that awful conflict had been forgotten, at least largely 
so. However, the Capital City of the Tar-heel State 
had not forgotten her dead whose remains were slum- 
bering in the dust of a distant State. A movement 
was started to disinter the remains and bring them 
back to the city they loved in life. The movement grew 
in favor with the people till the fact was accomplished, 
and it was announced that on a certain day and at a 
certain hour of that day, the sleeping remains would 
arrive in the city. The hour came and with it came 
the fulfillment of the announcement — the return of the 
dust of 126 soldiers, at last to >sleep in their native 
soil ! 

A procession formed at the station. The bodies of 
the dead, but not forgotten, braves, were placed on a 
large catafalque and it was drawn, if we remember 
correctly, by six fine black horses. The procession 
passed up Fayetteville Street, accompanied by a band 
of music. The procession moved very slowly. The 
band was playing — 

"Nearer, my God, to Thee — 

Nearer to Thee ! 
E'en tho' it be a cross 

That raiseth me, 
Still all my song shall be. 

Nearer, my' God, to Thee." 

The scene was indescribable. The impression upon 
the hearts and minds of the people on the streets, as 
the procession passed, no tongue can tell and no pen 
can portray. Apart from the music, it was as the 
stillness of death. The people who walked the streets 



154 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LIXE 

seemed to tread so lightly as not to be heard. The 
solemnity I have never seen equalled elsewhere, I think. 
It was more like what one might easily fancy the 
resurrection would be, than anything else I had seen 
in my life. The coming home of the long dead soldiers 
seemed much as if they had risen from their graves, 
indeed ! 



LVII— IF I COULD ONLY KNOW. 

The emphasis placed on that word know indicated 
the depth of anxiety of the questioner. He was sick 
and had a fear that he could never be well again. His 
condition was most serious, but that was not the dis- 
tressing thought to the sick man. He was burdened 
as to the future of his soul — of himself — but no one 
seemed able, or willing, to tell him the truth about it. 
Be decided to ask the doctor to tell him it' there were a 
chain e for him to get well again, but when the doctor 
came his coinage trembled. He hesitated to put the 
'dreaded question. He waited till the doctor was leav- 
ing the sick room, and then summoning all of the 
courage he had, he said : 

"Doctor, I want to ask you a question." 

"Yes." he said. "What is it V" 

'"Am I going to get well?" 

The doctor hesitated a moment, and the patient said to 
him : 

"Don't treat me as a child. I have a right to know. Tell 
me." 

"Well," he said, "you may recover this time; but the 
second or third attack is pretty sure to prove fatal." 

The sick man caught the doctor's coal and said to him: 

"Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the 
other side." 

Very quietly the doctor said : "/ don't know." 

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know 
what is on the other side !" 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \V\) 15J5 

The doctor was holding the handle of the door, on the 
other side of which came sounds of scratching and whining, 
and as ho opened the door a dog sprang Lnto the room and 
leaped on him with every show of gladness. Turning to the 

patient, the doctor said: 

"Did you notice that dog? He had never been in this 
room before. He did not know what was Inside. He knew 

nothing except that his master was there, and when the door 
opened he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on 
the other side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my 
Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door 
opens I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness." 

The dog's faith in his master is unequalled by 
that of another animal. What a lesson for man — with 
an unyielding faith in his Master he can unfalteringly 
cross the unseen line between time and eternity with- 
out a x fear — he is only going where his Master is. 



i 
LVIII— THE CHURCH AGAINST WHICH THE 
GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL. 

There has been much controversy over the inter- 
pretation of Matt. 16:18. It is all likely due to a 
misunderstanding of a word — it has been seen from an 
unnatural view-point, hence controversy and division. 
The passage in which that word occurs is : 

11 And I say also unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this 
rock I will build my Church: and the gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it."— Matt. 16:18. 

Seen from the right view-point the language is 
plain and beautiful, and need occasion no controversy 
whatever. Christ did not build His Church upon 
Peter, but upon Himself. An examination of the 
original language will readily sustain this view. Let 
us look at the facts : 

When Jesus said "Thou art Peter," He used the 
word Petros. Now the Greek word Petros, according 



156 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

to Thaver, means a detached fragment of a rock, but 
when Jesus added "upon this rock I will build my 
Church/" He used another Greek word for rock — not 
Petros, but Petra, which means, not a detached frag- 
ment of rock, but a great bed-rock, just suited for a 
great foundation. It is therefore clear that the Church 
was not built upon a detached fragment of a great 
rock, but rather upon the massive living bed-rock, and 
that was Jesus. What else can the language mean? 
Examine it closely thus: Petros, a detached fragment 
of rock. We must admit that a detached fragment of 
rock would not seem to be the thing for the foundation 
of an institution which was designed to resist the 
powers of hell. Then take the word Petra, a massive, 
living, bed-rock. At once we sec in the thought the 
word presents, the true ideal of a foundation for a 
great and mighty superstructure, prepared to with- 
stand the powers of hell. So Jesus called Peter's atten- 
tion to the tact thai he was a detached fragment of a 
rock, and this in itself sets aside any thought of Peter 
becoming the foundation for the Church of Christ. 
Then Jesus adds, not upon thai rock, I Peter) but upon 
this rock (Petra) Himself, He would build His Church 
against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. This 
is in keeping with Paul's idea, as when he said: "For 
other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ." Of course, Jesus is the founda- 
tion of the rimrch, which He bought with His own 
precious blood. God is building His Church upon 
Jesus Christ, the one sure foundation. Men are but 
broken fragments, and yet Jesus uses them not for the 
foundation, but for the superstructure, and this 
thought comes out beautifully in 1 Peter 2 : o — "Ye 
also, as living stones are, built up a spiritual house." 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE \\ i I i.vr 

There has been a greal change in Peter since Jesus 
called him Petros — now it is Ulltos, a polished stone. 
Ah, since the day Peter was Petros, God's Spirit has 
been at work on his heart, and now, instead of Petros, 
a rough fragment of a stone, it is lithos, a polished 
stone. Peter has been transformed — and now the 
spiritual structure is building — building of polished 
stones, rather than of rough detached fragments. When 
completed, how beautiful it will be! 



LIX— WHY THE DEACON COULD NOT LIVE IT. 

A brother pastor sent for me to supply his pulpit 
in case of necessary absence. At the time I was serving 
our people as editor of the Church paper, and so it 
happened to be convenient for me to assist the brother 
pastor. The day came and I was present to fill the 
engagement, as I had promised to do. A good and 
intelligent congregation was on hand to hear the word 
preached. Not being an orator, I rarely ever stopped 
to look after saying pretty things in an eloquent way. 
You see there was no use in trying to do that, since I 
could not do it. Knowing I had no chance for success 
in that direction, I bent my energies to a more hope- 
ful end, viz. : In an effort to present truth of the most 
vital character. I may not have succeeded in any great 
degree, in that even, but I had the satisfaction of 
knowing I had made an honest effort to do so. I 
remember there was a time in the early days of my 
ministry, when I thought everything depended on being 
eloquent. The Lord graciously permitted me to see 
the vanity of such an ambition, and at the same time 
impressed me with the thought that in fact, in the 



158 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

highest sense, only truth is really eloquent. I am 
thankful He gave me the thought and changed my 
purpose. But I must not forget my story as to the 
deacon. 

After the sermon was over and the congregation 
dismissed, I met, as I was passing out, a well-known 
deacon. He was not only well known in that church, 
but he was well known throughout that section of the 
country. He was a man of means and wide influence. 
He met me that day and said : "Bro. Barrett, that was 
a good sermon, if we could only live it!" I assured 
him that by the Lord's help we could live that sort of 
life, but he seemed to doubt it, nevertheless he seemed 
to appreciate my desire to help him. That day I took 
dinner with a gentleman and his wife. The sermon 
was again mentioned in some way, and the wile began 
to give me some reasons whyjpeople could not live up 
to that sort of teaching. Then she said only recently 
at,"a fish fry/' she had need of her husband's presence, 
but after hunting in many directions she could not 
find him. Xot to be defeated, she extended her search 
on the shady side of a chimp of trees, and there she 
found her husband and this deacon to whom 1 have 
referred, with a number of other men, playing cards. 
Then I could understand why the deacon did not 
think he could live the life I had held up in the sermon 
that morning. No man can serve two masters. Yon 
cannot serve the Lord on Sunday and then go oil' and 
play cards, as you may please, on any other day of the 
week, or do other things of like character. That was 
the deacon's trouble. He was trying to serve God at 
the church, and then when he went out into the world, 
he tried to do the things that men of the world were 
doing. No wonder that he thought he could not live 



EXPERIENCES ILONQ THE WAY ir»0 

that sort of life — he could no1 while he was a card- 
player and a moderate drinker. You cannot serve two 
masters, for as Jesus said, "You will hate one and love 
the other, or else von will hold to one and despise the 
other." When Jesus says a thing cannot be done, I 
accept His statement as true, for He always means 
what He says. 

Say, Reader, you cannot live the large and full 
Christian life while you are really enlisted in the 
service of the devil. You cannot do it, and no man 
ever did a more foolish thing than to try to do it. 



LX— A SINGULAR DREAM. 

When I became pastor of the Memorial Christian 
Temple, Norfolk, Va., it was soon quite evident that 
the standard of Christian living I was seeking to pre- 
sent in my sermons was burdening some of the people. 
They felt that the ideals were entirely too high for 
ordinary mortals to reach and maintain. Necessarily 
there was not a little talk bearing on the matter, and 
while the most of the members were very patient with 
me as their pastor, they felt that to try to live the 
life I was holding up to them in my sermons, would 
be useless, as no one could live such a life in a world of 
trial and temptation, such as we have to pass through 
here. 

One thing I urged upon the church was to live as 
a church without the aid of festivals, ice cream parties, 
etc., as a means of supporting the Lord's cause. In my 
zeal, one Sunday night, I declared against these means 
of support for the church and boldly avowed that I was 
ready to join a starvation society," rather than use 



160 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



such means for my support. When I had finished the 
sermon, one brother rose and said : "May I say a word? 1 ' 
I responded, "Certainly !" Then he began by saving : 

"Sir, you have taken a stand to-night radically different 
from what we are accustomed to here. If you are right, then 
we are wrong, but some of us are not ready for what you 
suggest." 

Then lie went on for a few short minutes. He was 
kind, but seemed to be feeling his way with the people. 

When the congregation was 
dismissed, the people gath- 
ered in little groups to dis- 
cuss the matter. A rupture 
between pastor and people 
was threatened. 

In a service one evening 
while the people were still 
stirred over the too high 
ideals held up for them in 
the sermons of the pastor, 
Deacon A. M. Kiev, long 
since gone to his reward, 
rose and asked the privilege 
The request was granted, of 




Deacon A. 31. Eley 

to say a few words 
course 



He began something like this: 

"We have all been talking a good deal as to the standard 
our pastor is holding up for us, and many of us have been 
thinking that Dr. Barrett is expecting too much of us — that 
his ideals of the Christian life are beyond the reach of mortals. 
I know we have been talking that way and you know it. I 
have thought a great deal about it, have prayed over it. It 
lias been bearing on my mind not a little. The other night 1 
had a dream — it was only a dream of course, but still it stimu- 
lated me to believe that our pastor is right in his efforts to 
lead the people to the best Christian life possible. But I had 
the dream, and in it I was permitted to go to Heaven, where 
the requirements for the Christian life were made so plain 



EXPERIENCES \U)\<; THE WAY l<;i 

to me, and when I began to compare what was shown me 
there with whal Dr. Barretl lins been teaching us here. I was 
compelled to cry out : 'I>r. Barretl has not t<>!<! us halt of whal 
the Lord expects of us as His children.' God's real standard is 
so much higher than anything we have heard from thai [MInit, 
that I felt like I wanted to come bads and tell you people, to 
say nothing more against what our pastor Is preaching to us, 
but to go to work and try to measure up to it. to the best of 
your ability by the grace 1 of God." 

Then Deacon Eley took his seat, the silence thai 
followed was quite intense— the people were thinking, 
for they were impressed, and to this day I have no 
doubt the Lord used the incident, as given by Deacon 
Eley, to help me in leading that people to a larger 
vision of the realities of the Christian life. God uses 
the weak things, even dreams, to put to flight the forces 
that are struggling against His truth. No doubt it was 
only a dream, but the dream taught a truth which was 
as really true as a demonstrated problem in mathe- 
matics. Deacon Eley's dream simply emphasized God's 
ideals for the Christian life away beyond the concep- 
tions of ordinary mortals. The truth is, man likes to 
compare himself with himself, and he likes it because 
it speaks well for human standards, but in the Chris- 
tian life human standards cannot measure — only God's 
measurement is standard. Let us seek that now and 
alwavs. 



LXI— IT WAS TOO LATE-NEYEB SAW HIM 
AGAIN. 

In the early "nineties," while I Avas serving the 

churches at P. and B. in N County. Va., an incident 

occurred which I have never been able to forget. In 
going to my appointment at B. I had to go through 
the neighborhood of P. In the membership of the 



162 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

church at P. was a lady whose husband tried to be a 
skeptic. He was very kind to his wife, but he did not 
wish to have any one talk to him about his own salva- 
tion. The faithful wife, however, was most solicitous 
for his conversion and salvation. It might be truly 
said that her heart was literally burdened on his 
account. She had spoken to me, as her pastor, and 
urged me to come to see them soon for the purpose of 
trying to lead him to Christ. I had promised to com- 
ply with her wishes at my earliest opportunity. The 
next Sunday was my appointment at B., and on some 
account I went thai week earlier than usual, leaving 
home on Thursday afternoon. On the way I decided 
to stop and see this unbelieving husband and 
I did. When I reached his home, he was out 
in the field. His. wife sent lor him to come 
to the bouse. Ho did so, but when he found I 
was there, he was restless and soon excused himself, 
saying he was compelled to go to the field, and he left 
quickly, giving me no chance to talk with him concern- 
ing his need of Christ. As lie lefl the house, I saw his 
heart-burdened wife was terribly disappointed because 
her husband would give me no chance to talk with him. 
As he left I bade her good-bye, telling her I would 
come to see him again soon. T can yet see the sorrow 
which beclouded her face in her disappointment. I 
went on to B. to visit till Sunday and then fill my 
appointment. Sunday morning came. We had 
assembled in the church at B. I was in the pulpit, 
just about ready to begin my sermon, when T saw P>ro. 
P., a neighbor of our skeptical friend, come in, and 
instead of taking a seat in the rear or midway, as others 
were doing, he kept straight on to the pulpit. As he 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE 11 LI L63 

reached me, he said in a low tone of voice: "J 



II - is dead!" That was our skeptical friend, upon 
whom 1 had called on Thursday before. Be had been 
taken suddenly ill thai Sunday morning and died in 
a very short time. After the service, I wenl to see the 
sorrowing widow, whose heart had been so solicitous 
for the salvation of her husband. She was the most 
miserable woman I think I ever tried to comfort. I 
did everything I could to relieve her heart-breaking 
sorrow, but I could do nothing, of course. I could help 
her some by consoling messages, but at length, she 
would cry out: "No hope, no hope!" and then I was 
dumb, for I had no ground upon which I could stand 
to persuade her that there was hope for the salvation 
of her departed husband. He had lived a skeptic, and, 
so far as we knew, he had died a skeptic. As a pastor, 
I had had many experiences in dealing with the un- 
saved and in trying to comfort the sorrowing, but I 
recall nothing that ever so stirred my heart as this 
case. If it may be the Lord's will, I should be glad not 
to have to encounter another case so sad. The effect 
upon my own heart and mind was trying. 

So many times since then have I thought of that, 
the last chance I had at him, and it was the last oppor- 
tunity he had to receive human help to find Christ, and 
he threw away the last chance, and died, so far as Ave 
know, without hope. 

Since then so often have I, sitting in the pulpit, 
looked over the congregation and asked myself: '.May it 
not be that some soul is to have the last opportunity 
in this service to find Christ and be saved? T hope the 
thought has stirred my heart to a greater zeal to win 
the erring while even one more chance is left. Dear 
Mrs. H. lived only a few short years, but she never got 



164 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

over the sorrow of having her husband go from her so 
suddenly unprepared. How solemn is the thought of 
going out into the darkness of eternity and without 
any hope whatever. 

-ETERNITY, OH, ETERNITY!" 



LXII— A DYING MAN'S LAMENT. 

In the course of my ministry as pastor of 
the Christian church at Berea, Norfolk County, 
Ya., Joseph Whitehursl was one of the most 
regular attendants upon the public worship of God. 
He was modest, unassuming, and steady. As a 
church member I counted him one of the besl 
in the community. One day I heard he was quite 
sick. I hastened to visit him. I found him, as I 
thought, not dangerously ill, but far from well. Prom 
time to lime I visited him and soughl to comfort him 
;is besl 1 could, laying special stress on God's promises 
for His people. He continued to grow worse gradually, 
and one day as 1 was leaving his home, his grey-haired 
and venerable mother followed me to the door, and as 
I hade her good-bye, she said, "I wish you would speak 
to Joe about his own salvation!" I was amazed. I 
said, "Why, is he not a Christian?" She responded, as 
witli a burdened heart, saying: "Oh, no — he has no 
hope whatever for the life beyond!" I did not know 
what to say. Recovering from my surprise, I said to 
her: "Why, I thought he was one of the best Christians 
in the church." "No," she said, "he has no hope at 
all:' 

"Then," said I, "I will not go back now, but I will 
be here again soon, and then I will talk with him as to 



/ \ FEME'S CE8 I LOS Q THE \\ \ ) L65 

his spiritual condition." In a shorl time I returned to 
his bedside, and I said: "Joe, I am told thai von do no! 
feel thai you are a Christian at all." lie promptly 
answered: "Oh, no, I am no Christian I have no hope 
for Hie future !" 

Then I began at the beginning and soughl to lead 
him to faith in the Son of God for flic forgiveness of 
sins. I sought to poinl out to him the plain way of 
life; but the way was all dark to him. Prom time to 
time I continued to visit him. At length I saw thai he 
would soon be called away, but he was still without 
hope. One Sunday morning before going to church 1 
called, and as I entered his room, I saw at a glance the 
transformation of his face, and as soon as he saw me, 
he began to tell me that every doubt was gone and his 
way was all clear. He was unquestionably very happy. 
Then he began to lament the fact that he had lived so 
far off from Christ — that his life had been such a 
failure. And then looking into my face as he lamented 
how little he had done for the cause of Christ, he said : 
"Tell the church people to-day that it is all right with 
me now/- and then seeming to recall how inactive he 
had been, he said : "Tell them, if I could get to church 
to-day, I could preach for them!" And then he went 
on in a joyous strain, telling of the assurance he had 
that morning of his acceptance with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ. His dying testimony was not only 
beautiful — it was heart-searching as well. He declared 
that when salvation came to him he had no further 
doubt about it, but that when he did not have it, he 
was overwhelmed with doubts. The next day Joseph 
Whitehurst went home to live with the Savior*. 

All this put me to thinking as a pastor. If Joseph 
Whitehurst, one of my most substantial members, was 



166 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

living without Christ, how many more might be in the 
same condition, and like him ? saying nothing about it, 
and yet hastening on to ruin? I was deeply moved at 
the thought of my responsibility. I tried to make of 
this incident a warning for myself, not to take it for 
granted that men are Christians just because they are 
members of the church. Since that day, many and 
many have been the times, as I sat in the pulpit, and 
looking out over the congregation, I have looked into 
the faces of men and women whom I knew well, only 
to find myself wondering if many of them were not in 
fact like Joseph Whitehurst, in the church, but without 
hope in the world, and to this day, the memory of the 
case of Bro. Whitehurst often reminds me of my great 
responsibility as a pastor and preacher and editor. It 
is my business, as a messenger from the King, to give 
the message He sends in such a way as to arouse men 
and women and to put them to thinking. Every man 
and woman ought frequently to examine himself or 
herself to make sure of the relationship they are sus- 
taining toward Cod. Oh, Reader, where art thou? 
Are you standing will) Joe Whitehurst, as he lived in 
the church, or witli him as lie died in Christ? Which is 
it? Will you answer honestly as you stand to-day 
before < rod and men ? 



LXIII— "THEN I WILL BE YOUR SERVANT 
FOREVER!" 

Meeting one of the deacons of the church I was 
preaching for on one occasion, he said he had just 
learned a fact which gave him joy. I asked him what 
it was. He replied : 



/' \ PtJRIENCES i/.o\ G 7///: w I I k;t 

"1 have just found out thai the Lord keeps hooks with us, 
and in every man's life there are two columns of figures, a 
debit and a credit column, [f the credit column gets the 
Largest amount, why then that overbalances the other column, 
and 1 am safe, and I really think I am doing more gooe! than 
had." 

To this we made reply : 

"You cannot buy your salvation salvation is a gift, and 
if you get it, you must take it as such. Doing things will uot 
secure your salvation. You do not serve God to indnwe Him 
to save you. Not that at all, as 1 understand it. You serve 
God because He has saved you, not that you may induce Him 
by your works to save you. We have an example of this in 
the case of Abraham, as given to us by Paul. See Romans 4 : 
1-16, where the gift of life seems not to be of works, but of 
grace. The reward of salvation is not reckoned to a man 
because of bis works, but by the grace of God — it is God's 
gift to men and women who are lost in sin and have no means 
of saving themselves. Your two columns of figures, your debit 
and your credit, will have nothing to do Avith settling the 
matter of the gift of salvation — that is God's free gift to men." 

The matter of work comes in after you are saved. 
Because He has saved you, you become His servant 
and do His bidding to the best of your ability. The 
service of His children will have something to do with 
their rew r ards, but not with the gift of salvation. If 1 
were to make you a gift of a farm, and then make you 
pay for it at a pretty high price, you would not call 
that a gift, would you? If God were to offer you eternal 
life as a free gift, and then tell you before you could 
get it, you must pay for it, it would not be much of a 
gift, would it? As Christians we serve the Lord as a 
matter of pleasure — because we love Him so. He has 
saved us from the curse of sin, and now because He has 
done so much for us, out of love to Him we wish to 
serve Him, and so when we find ourselves heirs of 
salvation through the gift of His Son, why our first 
impulse is to serve Him because He has saved us. That 



168 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

is the philosophy of salvation, as I understand it. Let 
me illustrate the idea. 

It is related that during the days of slavery, a 
northern man was in the city of New Orleans. It 
happened to be the day of the sale of slaves. In passing 
the place for such sales, he heard the auctioneer crying 
for bids on a poor slave. He turned in to listen for a 
moment, and as he did so he met a colored woman, who 
was crying. lie asked her why she was crying. She 
replied : 

"They are going to sell me from my children, and I do not 
know where I shall go, nor who will he my master." 

The northern man advised 1km- to stopjerying, and 
passed on. Soon lit 1 returned, and coming near to the 
"block," he saw this woman was up for sale. He 
listened to the bids. His heart was greatly moved, and 
he determined to buy her and give her freedom. In a 
few moments she was "knocked down" to this man's 
bid, and as she came from the "block," she came crying, 
as if her hoari would break. The man spoke and asked 
her what she was crying for, when she said: 

"They have sold me from my children, and I do not know 
who is my master." 

Then the man said : 

"I have bought you. and I now give you your freedom 
forever !" 

Then the poor slave, overcome with gratitude for 
her freedom, fell at his feel and throwing her arms 
about his ankles, said : 

"Then I will be your servant forever!" 

Do you see the point? If the man was good 
enough to buy her from slavery and give her freedom, 



/' \ PERIENCE8 1 1.<>\ Q 'I'll I. ll I ) L09 

then she was noble enough to become his servanl -'is 
long as she lived and do her best for him. 

How like the man in his sins! The world, 1 1 10 
flesh, and the devil after him -seeking his ruin, and 
Jesus comes along and by the shedding of His own 

blood, purchases the sinner's freedom forever, and if 
we have the gratitude of the old colored woman, h 
does seem that we would not wish to claim our salva- 
tion as the result of the little we can do, but gratefully 
acknowledging His marvelous work for us in securing 
our deliverance from the slavery of sin, we should fall 
at His feet and voluntarily promise Him our best 
service forever. That is the ideal of Christian service. 
Not because we must, or be lost, but because He has 
saved us, we enlist and do our best for Him, now and 
always. Be it so! And let us do it gladly, with all 
the mind and heart. 



LXIV— A BRAZEN HYPOCRITE. 

After a residence of more than ten years in the 
city of Raleigh, N. C, I had moved to Virginia. Five 
or six years later I was invited to return to Raleigh to 
assist the pastor in a series of meetings. It was a 
pleasure to accept the invitation, both for the work's 
sake and because it was to me much like going back to 
my old home. Of course, I knew the people of the city 
fairly well, and yet many strangers had come in during 
my absence. The meeting had been in progress for 
several days with some interest. I felt that it would 
be well to open that night's service by what we 
ordinarily call a "testimony meeting." I knew full well 
that such meetings are often beset with perils, arising 



170 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

from unexpected sources. During my residence in 
Raleigh I had known a man, a member of a prominent 
church of another denomination, who had been a sort 
of a preacher, but he had made shipwreck of his pro- 
fession as a Christian and had fallen, till almost no 
one had any confidence in him. He had been accused 
of gross immorality, and in his trial his guilt was 
established. He was a sort of an outcast from decent 
people. That night just as 1 was extending the 
opportunity for a "testimony meeting,'' I saw that man 
enter the church. I knew his tendencies to make him- 
self just about as prominent as he dared to do. As I 
saw him enter it occurred to me that under the call 
for testimony, just as likely as not, he would be the 
first man up, and I knew thai such an act, on his part, 
would do the meeting harm, and so I determined to take 
time by the forelock and shut him off. To do this I 
closed the invitation by saying: "II is sometimes the 
ease that men who profess, hut have no standing, as 
Christians, are the most ready to testify— they always 
do harm. To-night I wish to say, it' you are walking 
right — walking in the light of Jesus — we shall be glad 
to hear from you. hut il you are living all wrong, then 
please keep your seat. I E your talk agrees with your walk 
in daily life, then we shall be glad to have you testify, " 
and with that statement the meeting was opened. 
Would you believe it? That old hypocrite was the first 
man on his feet to give testimony to the keeping power 
of the religion of Jesus Christ. Surely the devil can 
make a man, who is under his power, do anything he 
may wish to help him in his terrible work. If the old 
man had arisen to come to the altar, crying for mercy, 
as a sinner, I should have given him a hearty welcome, 
but when he arose to give testimony as a saint, he 



EXPERIENCES LLONG THE W LI 171 

disgusted me, as he did all decent people who knew 
him, but what cares a hypocrite what he does? If lie 
lives the life of a hypocrite, why that includes all other 
sins. The hypocrite is both daring and dangerous. It 
requires a strong, bold hand to deal with him, but he 
should be silenced till he repents and confesses. 

"An evil soul, producing holy witness, 
Is like a villian with a smiling cheek ; 
A goodly apple rotten at the heart ; 
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath." 



LXV— CLEARING UP A DIFFICULT PASSAGE 
OF SCRIPTURE. 

We all have to confess that there are many difficult 
passages of Scripture. However, there is one singular 
thing about most of these difficult passages, viz. : If 
truly explained, they at once stand forth in the beauty 
of real simplicity. Few texts in the Bible have been 
more perplexing to the average Bible reader than Rom. 
1) : 15, wiiich reads : 

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will 
have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have 
compassion." 

Over that text many a battle has been fought, and 
many a dear one has stumbled, it may be into great 
darkness, and yet it is one of the marvels of beauty in 
Scriptural thought and encouragement to poor fallen 
man. As strange as it may seem, it has often been 
interpreted with just the opposite effect, greatly dis- 
couraging and dividing the Lord's people. Properly 
understood it is one of the gems of Holy Writ. When 
I first discovered its meaning, as I now understand it, 
I felt like I would be glad of the opportunity to go up 



172 FORTY YEARS 0\ THE FIRIXG LIXE 

and down the earth, proclaiming the good news it 
gives. 

Even our ordinary English translation, properly 
understood, reveals great depths of thought and a sur- 
passing beauty of meaning, but the Greek brings out a 
shade of thought which the English cannot give. Let 
us read it, as the Greek fully warrants us in doing, 
thus: 

"For he saith lo Moses, I will hare mercy on whom I can 
hare mercy, and J trill hare compassion on whom I ran hare 
compassion" 

There is all the difference between the meaning of 
the two readings according to our ordinary understand- 
ing. If a man says: "I will do what I will do," that 
indicates an arbitrary purpose, entirely independent of 
the conditions. But that is not God's way. Instead of 
doing things arbitrarily Be says: "I will do all I 
can to have mercy upon man, to save him from sin."' 
You may ask: "Bui cannot God have mercy upon every 
one?" No, He cannot, and Cor this reason: Some men 
will not give up their sins. Upon such an one God 
cannot have mercy, and for the reason that the man 
refuses to yield to the condition on which God has 
agreed to have mercy. It a man refuses to give up 
sin and will not yield to God's way, how can God have 
mercy upon him? So the Lord very carefully stated 
what He would do, that He would have mercy upon all 
upon whom He can have mercy. What more can He 
do? 

If this is the true interpretation of this passage, it 
must be supported by other passages of Scripture. 
These we may find in both the Old and New Testa 
ments, and we shall see that men die, not because God 



l'\ PERIENCES ILONQ Till: \\ I I l?:; 

wills it so, bul because men choose death and will not 
have life. Turn to — 

Esekiel 83: 11 — "As I live, saith the Lord (,'<></, I have no 
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn 
from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways: 
for irli i/ irill ye die, (> house of Israel?" 

Clear as a sunbeam is the thought there, that God 
does not wish men to die. He wishes them to turn from 
their evil ways and live. So if men are lost it is 
because they choose death and refuse to have life on the 
conditions God has wisely imposed. 

This view is also sustained by the New Testament. 
Turn to— 

Luke 13:34 — "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the 

prophets, and stones! them that are sent unto thee; how often 
would I hare gathered thy children together, as a hen doth 
gather her brood under her icings, and ye would not!" 

Here again Jesus' desire to save is plain enough, 
and the only reason He did not save those people was 
because they would not allow Him to do so — they 
simply would not! So it seems quite clear that the 
interpretation given to Rom. 9 : 15 is in perfect har- 
mony with plain statements of both the Old and New 
Testaments, 

At first sight the case of Esau and Jacob seems 
to contradict this view, but upon a closer examination, 
we find it sustains it. Paul quotes in the same chapter 
the expression, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have 1 
hated." That seems to contradict my interpretation, 
but it does not. Turn to Heb. 12: 16, and we shall find 
why God hated Esau — it was because Esau was a 
fornicator and profane person, thus indicating a life 
of sin of the blackest kind, and of course God could not 
love and save a man who would not give up such vile 
sins as fornication and profanity. True, Jacob was 



174 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

not at one time the best kind of a man, but Jacob did 
set bis face in the right direction and was willing to 
forsake his sins. This gave God a chance to save him, 
but Esau held to his sin, and nothing else could be done 
for him. 

Furthermore, all of this is in keeping with God's 
covenant with Abraham as set forth in Gen 17:1, 2, 
where God made a covenant with Abraham, stipulating 
that under this covenant Abraham should walk before 
the Lord and be perfect. That covenant included 
Mercy. See Dent. 4: 31. Thus we can readily see how- 
it is that God lias mercy on every one upon whom lie 
can have mercy — that is, on every one who will walk 
before Him according to righteousness. It a man 
refuses to obey God, on him God cannot have mercy 
and for the reason that such an one chooses sin rather 
than grace, death rather than life, For himself. 

"But," says one, "in this same ninth chapter of 
Romans it is said: "So then it is not of him that will 
ethj nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth 
mercy" — how is thai ? 

1 1 is just as the Word puts it. God's favor is not 
won by a man willing it, for if it were, then God's 
mercy would not be needed. Man would gain all by 
his own power of willing. Neither is it won by run- 
ning, for that would still give man God's favor by 
man's own efforts, and that no man can gain. True we 
do use our wills and we do run in the matter of the 
gift of eternal life, but we will and run in God's way 
and after II is mercy. 

It is clear then that God is saving every one whom 
He can save — every one who will turn from his sins 
and turn unto God and follow T Him in the way of 



/, \ PERIENCES I LOA Q THE W 1 V 



17:, 



everlasting life, bul if a man will nol give up his sin 
and turn unto the Lord, who can help him, since he 
has been lefl a free agenl ? 



LXVI— FOOLED BY THE DEVIL. 

"If the blind lead I lie blind, both shall fall info the 
ditch:'— Matt, 15: I). 

That is not an unusual occurrence, nor is i( any- 
thing new. for Paul tells us that the devil transforms 

himself into an 
angel of light, 
and of course he 
does it to deceive. 
He would deceive 
the 'elect if pos- 
sible. If he suc- 
ceeds, he wins a 
f o 1 1 o w e r, f o r 
many might be 
easily led to be- 
lieve it wise to 
follow an angel. 
Under such cir- 
cumstances, most 
men forget that 
there may be 
wicked as well as 
holy angels. As Paul saw him, the devil was 
transforming himself to look like a holy angel, 
but he was none the less wicked, and so it often 
happens. A man who would not think of yielding to 
the leadings of the wicked one, may be easily led into 
awful sin, if he can be made to believe that his leader 




If the Blind Lead the Blind Hoth Shall 
Fall Into the Ditch 



176 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

is a holy angel — that is the point of contact for 
deception. 

I knew of just such a case in the days of my early 
ministry. It is no imaginary case. Mr. S. was a 
resident of Xansemond County, Virginia. He was a 

prominent member of the church at , and in an 

ordinary way was a fine man. At one time I had the 
honor to serve as his pastor. While he was compara- 
tively a young man and a member of the church, he 
felt the need of making more money. The devil told 
him he could make it, if he would sell whiskey. He 
was a church member and a respectable man in the 
community, and it rather con fused his ideas of what 
was just right. But he thought he was under the 
guidance of an angel, and as lie saw it, the angel said, 
"It will be all right, do it !" The temptation was at the 
right time and of the right kind, and Charles E. S— 
stepped down and went into the liquor business. He 
did not think of leaving the church, and the church 
itself had not the courage to tell him he must quit, or 
get out. The pastor did not tell him it could not be 
allowed for a church member to sell liquor, or if he did, 
the liquor-selling church member paid no attention to 
it. So he grew old in the business. Ten years passed 
and he was still selling liquor. Fifteen years fussed 
and he was well on the way to twenty years in the 
business. Then he complained of not feeling well, and 
he continued indisposed for several months, and finally 
took his bed with consumption fully fastened upon his 
system, but he was still a member of the church, and 
was still selling whiskey, or having it done, which 
showed that he had not been moved to give it up. The 
day of his death drew near. His strength and flesh 
were rapidly failing and he realized the end was near. 



/: \ PERIE* CES \ /.n\ Q THE WA ) L71 

When asked aboul his spiritual condition, he said he 
was very happy and ready to go ai the Master's call. 
Lying there in his home, facing death, Init <>ni in his 
store they were selling whiskey in his name and on his 
responsibility. In the midst of it all, he said he was 
dying very happy. What do yon think of that? If a 
man can die happy in the liquor business, why should 
we say so much against it — why should there be such 
woe prononneed on the whiskey seller? It is perfectly 
natural for one who is "fooled'' Ijy the devil to believe 
he is happy, although every one else knows he is not 
happy—how could a man be happy selling liquor, 
exeept that the devil has "fooled" him into thinking 
he is happy, when he is not? 

"If Mr. S.. died full of joy while in the business, 
it must not be so bad after all as many people say it 
is." 

That is the way an unwise one might reason, and 
yet his reasoning will not stand. T am sure then you 
will wish to know how it is that this man died after 
twenty years in the liquor business in such a happy 
frame of mind. 

It is this way: The devil "fooled" him into living 
wrong by selling whiskey and so cursing his fellow 
men. I say the devil "fooled"' him into doing such an 
unholy work, and all the while kept him believing that 
it was no harm to do it, while all men in their right 
senses knew that he was engaged in a terrible sin, 
against his fellow men and against himself, as well as 
against God's law, but that is the way the devil blinds 
some otherwise fine people. Beware ! You see the 
devil had fooled him into living a wrong life, but kept 
him all the while under the impression that he was 
doing right. In other words, the devil kW fooled" him 



178 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRIXG LIXE 

into living a terribly sinful life. Now may I ask you, 
if the devil "fooled" him into believing he was living a 
right life, while he was really living a very sinful life, 
may it not be that the devil would again come to him 
in a dying hour, as an angel of light, and "fool" him 
into believing that he was dying all right and happy, 
when he was really dying a lost sinner? If the devil 
"fooled' 7 him in one case, why might he not do so in 
the other? 

Perhaps you may ask, What motive could the 
devil have for wishing to "fool" Mr. S. into believing 
that he was dying all right, while lie was dying all 
wrong? Certainly that is a proper question. You see 
the devil wanted some one to take the place of Mr. S. — , 
as soon as lie could sell no more whiskey, and if the 
devil had left Mr. S. to die a miserable death, looking 
right into the jaws of an open hell, he would have 
found it pretty hard to gel some one to take the place 
of the dead man when he was gone, hut if he could 
"fool" Mr. S. into believing he was dying very happy, 
why, then some one else would be willing to take his 
place and carry on the same cause, and then he would 
have another man, and perhaps another church mem- 
ber, in that community selling whiskey and so serving 
the wicked one. 

If the devil can "fool" a man into believing he is 
living a right lite when he is really living for, and 
serving, the devil, may he not just as easily "fool" him 
into believing that he is dying very happy, when in 
fact he is really dying a lost soul? May he not make a 
man think he is going to Heaven, when in fact he is 
going to Hell? If not, why not? A man who has been 
"fooled" into spending twenty years in serving the 
devil, while he has professed to serve God, may surely 



/: \ PERIENCE8 ALONG THE W I I it:» 

• 
be "fooled" into believing thai he is dying, serving God, 

when in fad he is dying, serving I lie devil. You sec, 

having "fooled" the man for twenty years while living, 

it is nothing strange if ho should "fool" him Ed* the 

short time when he is passing through the dark shadow 

and valley of death. Beware of both the devil and all 

his imps — they are not angels, but demons, seeking 

the ruin of the unsuspecting. 



LXVII— INTERESTING INCIDENTS IN THE 
GREAT REVIVAL AT NORFOLK. 

A revival, a real revival of religion, is always 
interesting, and frequently it is marked by scenes of 
an extraordinary character. In the year 1898 we had a 
revival in the Memorial Christian Temple at Norfolk, 
Va., of unusual power. It began the second Sunday 
in February and under the most unfavorable surround- 
ings, at least it seemed that way to me. I remember, 
almost as if it were but yesterday, how on that mem- 
orable day I was greatly depressed till I felt much like 
giving up. Though we were on the point of trying to 
begin a revival, or rather services looking to that end, 
I was harassed and annoyed by the criticisms of one 
of the leading members, financially at least, till it 
seemed to me as if I could not carry the burden further. 
It may be that this condition contributed to good 
results later, for no doubt it led me, as nothing else 
had done, to betake myself to mgy Master and lay my 
burdens on Him. You see that gave Him a chance to 
carry them for me. My heart was burdened for the 
spiritual welfare of the people under my care, and 
just at the moment when I needed every possible 




The Memorial Christian Temple, Norfolk, Va. 



fil \ PERIBNCES ILONQ THE W I ) LSI. 

sympathy and encouragement, I was besel with just 
the opposite situation. 

The first week of the meeting (it lasted seven 
weeks) passed without any very unusual manifesta- 
tions of the divine presence. There was a good state 
of feeling and a good bit of interest, and vet no 
specific move on the part of the people. At the begin- 
ning of the second week 1 was much fatigued, and 
physically disqualified for the work before me, but I 
could but try and leave the results with the Lord. On 
Monday night of the second week I observed in the 
congregation a visiting minister of another denomina- 
tion. I needed his help, but I hesitated to ask him to 
preach, for I had heard that he was an extremist. At 
length, however, I did ask him and he consented to 
preach. He preached a grand sermon, but I did not 
feel sure of my ground to the extent of asking him to 
preach again, so I simply said: 'Well, when you can 
spare the time, come again." He said he would. The 
next night he came again, and again I asked him to 
preach, and he did so — another line, soul-stirring ser- 
mon. Then I invited him to come to my assistance 
regularly, and for six weeks we labored together in one 
of the most remarkable meetings I have known in all 
of my ministry. The revival grew in interest and 
spread throughout the community, till it was the talk 
of the city. Great crowds of people attended nightly. 
We have never known the number of professions of 
faith which were made during the meeting, but there 
were many. I think I never saw such deep conviction 
for sin. The people seemed to be burdened, weighed 
down by the thought of their sins. Where there is such 
deep conviction, confession must necessarily follow, 
and it did in that case. I remember one night when 



182 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

many were at the altar seeking salvation and the ful- 
ness of life, a prominent business man of the city, a 
member of another denomination, came to the altar 
and in deep penitence waited and prayed for several 
minutes, may be half an hour, and then he cried out: 
"I am such a hypocrite!" His agony was deep appar- 
ently. He finally seemed to gain the victory, then 
united with our church and became an active member. 
Another case attracted much attention by reason 
of the nature of his confession. He was a member of 
the church — at least he managed to keep his name on 
the roll. He had been to the altar, as I now remember, 
tor several evenings, when at length he, too, seemed 
delivered from his burden. In a day or two, he came to 
me and said : 

"I have a confession to make, and I tool I ought to make 
it to the congregation, and it is my purpose to do so to-night. " 

I then asked him to tell me what was the nature 
of the confession, and he readily admitted that it was 
theft, and then told the circumstances, I was deeply 
moved in sympathy for him, but I could not help him. 
Be said, 

"It might he doubted that I ought to make such a con- 
fession publicly, hut I must do it to discharge my personal duty 
in the matter." 

It nothing else will satisfy your conscience, you must do 
as yon see proper," I said. 

That night he got up before the congregation and 
made one of the most humiliating confessions, stating 
that he had stolen certain things from a certain party. 
Then he added: 

"And I have heen to the party I wronged and have con- 
fessed to him. lie forgives me fully and freely and expresses 
a stronger confidence in me than ever. I am very happy in 
having this load lifted from my heart." 



/ \ PERIENCES I LONQ THE \\ l ) L83 

Ee looked every whit of i(. 

In the midst of the meeting we had a season of 
fasting and praying — and that was one of the mosl 

remarkable services I was ever in. Quite a number 
had met in the lecture room of the church. When the 
service had been in progress for several hours, the 
fervor of the meeting was remarkable. To this day I 
can hear the pleading voices calling upon God for 
power and for the conviction of sinners. That was a 
day of agonizing prayer, and the answer came in 
showers of blessing upon the famishing multitude and 
many were brought to see themselves lost and undone. 
Among those who had become mightily interested 
in the meeting was the lady mentioned in the beginning 
of this sketch, as criticizing the pastor and making a 
most unpleasant situation for him. She had become 
interested and realized her need, and though a mem- 
ber of the church, she was at the altar and her husband 
was by her side, both solemnly and earnestly seeking 
the fulness of the Christian life. For several days 
they were present at almost every service, much inter- 
ested in both themselves and others. Then there came 
to them a chill, and they ceased to come, and about the 
next thing I heard from them, they were both opposing 
the meetings and the work there in progress. Xot a 
great while afterwards the lady was taken extremely 
ill. A surgical operation of a most dangerous nature 
must be performed. For days she hovered between life 
and dea tli. I visited the distressed husband and prayed 
with him and for her. It was just at the point in her 
illness when they were looking for the end at any 
moment. That night the tide turned, and slowly she 
came back to health, but not back to the Lord. She 
engaged in card parties and many other matters which 



1S4 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

poorly became a professing church member, and to this 
day, as best I can understand her, she is living far off 
from God. 

I remember a big policeman, who had been guilty 
of murder, came and in deep penitence sought for for- 
giveness, but he was not satisfied and went away with 
his burden on his heart. He told me that as he walked 
the streets alone, he often heard a voice calling him, 
•'Frank!" He fell it was the call of the Spirit in some 
way lie could not explain, but the last I knew of that 
man. He was still out of Christ. 



LXVIII- DEATH-BED REPENTANCE. 

Is there any such thing as genuine repentance on 
a death-bed? There may be. It may be possible, and 
yet the facts seem to make it doubtful. I have studied 
die matter for many years, and so far I have found very 
few instances in which the facts warranted me in 
believing thai repentance on a deathbed was of the 
genuine kind. 

1 have enquired of many Christian workers, 
through many years and in many parts of the country, 
but have yet to find the 6rs1 instance in which a person 
came to repentance on what was supposed to be his or 
her bed of death, and then recovered, thai such an one 
did not go back to a lite of sin. I have not even heard 
of a case that did not result that way. It seems that 
most men, when called to meet death, unprepared, are 
stricken with terror, and whatever change comes over 
them, comes through fear, and when the fear is taken 
away, as when they recover from the sickness from 
which they had expected to die, then the repentance 



/ \ PBRIENCES ILONQ Till: \V \ I L85 

is gone and they find themselves in love with sin, just 
as before they were sick. That is the way it lias 
seemed to work within the scope of my observation. 

I have in mind an instance in which results were 
as indicated. I have known of many of that kind, but 
this one case 4 is impressed upon my mind more deeply 
than some others. 

While I was pastor of the Christian church at 
Berea, Norfolk County, Va v in the early "nineties," I 
was told by some of the members of that church that 
there was a certain man in the community, a man of 
wealth and prominence, who declared that, though he 
was not a Christian, he w T as not afraid to die. Those 
good people could not account for that, and applied to 
me, as their pastor, to explain to them how he could 
possibly mean what he said. I explained to them that 
the only man who was not afraid to die, who was not 
a Christian, was the man who had sinned against the 
Holy Spirit until the Spirit had left him forever, and 
in that case, it would be due to the hardness of the 
heart, rather than to any assurance that there is no 
hell for him. 

'Time passed along and in the course of a few 
months this man w T as stricken with erysipelas. It was 
a malignant case. He grew r weaker and weaker as the 
disease raged. One morning the symptoms became 
alarming. He sent for the doctor in a great hurry, and 
as it was but a short distance, the physician was soon 
on hand. Entering the house, he met a married daugh- 
ter of the sick man and saw that she was very much 
excited, and addressing her he said: "Mrs. \\\, what is 
the matter?" "Oh/' said she, "father is dying." The 
sick man heard what his daughter said to the physician, 



186 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

and he at once spoke out and said : "Yes, doctor, I am 
dying 1" 

The doctor went to his bedside, examined the 
patient, and very quickly assured him that his pulse 
was good and that he was not dying. With the best 
treatment the physician could give him he was soon 
on the road to recovery. The physician said that he 
had never seen a man so frightened in his life as the 
sick man was the morning he was hurriedly called to 
his bedside, and yet that is the man who in health had 
tried to make his neighbors believe that he was not 
nfi-aid to die. He had persuaded himself that he was 
not afraid to die, but God showed him, oh, so plainly 
that he was afraid to die. Thai day in his great scare 
he professed religion. The news spread rapidly 
throughout the neighborhood that Mr. W. had become 
a Christian, of course all rejoiced to hear the good 
news. A few weeks passed, and Ik 1 had so far recovered 
as to permit his friends to visit him. I was glad to 
accept the opportunity and did so. I was admitted 
to his room, and after a tew words of greeting and 
enquiring as to his health, I said: "Well, Mr. \\\, I 
have been more than delighted to hear that von have 
become a Christian, and I have come to rejoice with 
you in your new found faith." Looking up, lie said: 
"Mr. Barrett, T had more joy that day (referring to the 
day of his critical illness, when In 1 supposed lie was 
dying) than in all the years of my life." Of course, I 
rejoiced with him. In a few weeks he 1 was practically 
well as ever. Later I visited him and talked with him 
personally about his life, but in less than six months 
he had given it all up and was again serving the flesh 
pots of Egypl as in the days of yore. That seemed to 
be his last opportunity. He lived a few short years, 



EXPERIENCES ILONQ THE \\ \) 1*7 

and then was called to pass through a <;isc of blood 
poisoning Prom a simple abrasion of the skin, and in a 
short while he was dead, and so far as his friends 
could learn, he died without hope. Was no1 his a ease 
of death-bed repentance? I greatly fear ii was, and 
like most others, it lasted as long as the danger was 
real. There is a reason for the failure of death-bed 
repentance — it is prompted not by sorrow for wrong- 
doing, but from a fear of punishment, and when the 
(ear is removed, the basis of repentance is gone, and 
there is nothing to save one from the old life. 

Death-bed repentance is as deep as the danger is 
imminent. A man under sentence of death in Newgate 
prison was seeking to prepare to meet God. The chap- 
lain had given him a Bible and prayer-book to assist 
him. He seemed interested and in earnest, but when a 
reprieve came, staying the early approach of death, 
this prisoner returned the Bible and prayer-book say- 
ing: "I have no further need of these now." If the 
sentence had been executed, do you think this man 
would have been found ready or lacking? 



LXIX— THE PRESSURE OF AN UNSEEN 
PRESENCE. 

It was during the days when great burdens rested 
heavily upon me as the pastor of the Memorial Chris 
ti'an Temple. I need not stop here to relate just what 
l hey were. Suffice it to say they were such as no human 
hand could lift from my heart. Only the Lord could 
do that, and to Him I had gone for relief. It was in 
the study of the old Temple, and I was privately 
kneeling at my accustomed place in prayer. I was 



18S FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

pleading for help — for deliverance and for victory. 1 
had been waiting in a kneeling posture for quite a 
while, pleading for His presence, for strength and for 
faith to go forward with the work in hand. My help- 
lessness had overwhelmed me, and all I could do was 
to plead and wait and expect. There came to me a 
thrill of hope and a ray of light. It seemed to me as if 
the dark clouds were about to part and let the sun- 
shine of His presence come in. The moment was one 
of complete quiet and sweet rest. Just then I felt the 
pressure against my bosom as of some Unseen One — 
it was the pressure of love 1 and strength. The pressure 
grew till it was so distinct thai it seemed to me as if 
I saw the body that was pressing against me, and with 
a sense of this presence came a delight and an uplift 
that I shall never forget. I had not before had any 
such experience, nor have I had it since. It was unique, 
even strange, and yel it was an uplift — a great bless- 
ing. You might ask me to explain it. 1 could not do 
it, for I did not myself understand it. There was no 
fright attending such an experience rather it was one 
of peace and quiet. Von may ask me if I were not 
asleep and dreaming. No, I am sure I was not asleep 
— it was not a dream. Mind and Spirit were involved. 
It was one way of answering my plea and giving me 
assurance, as I thought, of divine approval and of the 
divine Presence. You may doubt it, but I cannot! To 
do so would be to doubt my own senses. I have rarely 
ever mentioned this incident to the public in any way 
till now. It seemed quite too sacred to mention, and 
yet I do so now in the hope that it may encourage some 
other to wait long and patiently in prayer till He 



/ \ PERIENCES iLONQ THE WA V L89 

comes (o bless, for times of refreshing conic froiu the 
presence of the Lord. Verily — 

"Times of refreshing shall came from the presence of the 
Lord."— Acts 3: 10. 



LXX— A MOST TOUCHING SCENE. 

One of the most touching scenes that ever came 
under my observation as a pastor was enacted between 
two brothers. They were like other brothers — they 
had been reared together, and of course loved one 
another, but they had never said much about it, not 
even one to the other. In the vicissitudes of life many 
changes come to u>s all. So it was with these boys. 
The older was going as a foreign missionary to Turkey, 
where he would serve among the Mohammedans, a 
very war-like and dangerous people, who think they 
do God's will when they kill men who do not agree 
with them. These boys had been expecting this event 
for several months, but now the hour of separation 
had come. We had gone from the church down to the 
wharf where the older brother and his young bride 
were to embark for a foreign shore. We had gone 
aboard, and then came that word which so often opens 
the hearts of dear ones who are about to part, it may 
be forever, so far as time is concerned, "All a shore 
that's going ashore." The trying moment had come. 
Others had said good-bye, but the younger brother 
tarried behind, putting off the saying of the last word 
as long as possible. It was after night fall. The dim 
lights on the wharf were flickering very low, so that 
it was with some difficulty that persons could discern 
the faces of others clearly. I was standing near the 



190 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

young missionary when his young brother came to say 
good-bye. They lovingly clasped each the other in the 
arms, and remained quiet just a moment or two, and 
then I heard the younger brother saying: "I never 
knew till this moment how I love you — good-bye!" I 
have rarely seen a more tender parting, and even now T 
cannot write these lines without stopping to wipe away 
the tears, although it has been almost fourteen years 
since I Avitnessed the scene. 

We are accustomed to look upon the battle-field 
for examples of courage and devotion, but I believe 
that it takes more courage to part under such circum- 
stances than it does to go to the field of battle. The 
one is under the excitemenl of a call to arms in the 
presence of an invading foe, the other transpires in 
the quiet of life and duty. The home people, how it 
wrings their hearts to say good-bye to the son or daugh- 
ter, who is leaving for the lands of darkness to make 
.Jesus known to the benighted sons and daughters of 
earth. Then think of the loneliness that must come to 
the missionary on the field with none to sympathize, 
and even more to the father and mother who are left 
behind, while their dear one is sailing the sea, bound 
for a foreign shore. But this is enough ! Xo language 
can express it all ! 



LXXI— FACES TO THE LIGHT. 

I was much impressed one day on entering a room 
in which there was a large window surrounding which 
were many beautiful flowers. The beauty of the flowers 
was pleasing, of course, but the thing which impressed 
me so much was the fact that every flower was leaning 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 101 

forward with its face toward the light, as if stretching 
its length that it might get all the light possible. How 
beautiful is this habit of the flowers! 

Again I was out in the open air and saw a big sun 
flower, just opening its golden beauty. It was in the 
early morning. I saw its big head and sunny face 
seemed to be bowing to the rising sun. At noon I saw 
it had changed its position — its big head was bowing to 
the south, but looking up I saw the sun had changed 
its position, it, too, was sweeping across the southern 
sky. In the later afternoon the flower had again 
changed its position — it was hanging its head to the 
west, and then I caught up with its trick — all day long 
as the sun traversed its way from the east to the west, 
the flower had followed closely, keeping its face to 
the sun, and now that it was going down behind the 
western hills, the flower was still following, seeking 
to catch every ray of light which might fall its way. 
Was the flower greedy to wish to catch all the light 
coming its way? Not at all. It was just the thing it 
was made to do. Plant life lives on the light of the 
sun, and especially does the sun's light unfold the 
beauties and sweetness of the flower itself. Thus we 
can see how wise the flower was to do everything it 
could to get all the light from early morning till late 
in the evening, following the course of the sun, not for 
an hour, or for three hours, but for the whole day, 
drinking in every particle of its precious power to 
beautify and make fragrant the life of the flowers. 

How wonderful ! And what a lesson to men and 
women and to boys and girls, teaching them to stretch 
every nerve in an effort to keep their faces toward the 
light of God's truth through the live-long day of life's 
journey! Heaven is light! There is no night there. 



192 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

When we keep our faces to the light, we are journeying 
toward Heaven, and that means constant growth in the 
truth, becoming more like Christ who is the light of 
the world. The Bible tells us that when the Jews, 
after long exile, were set at liberty in Babylonia, they 
did not know the way home, they only knew that 
Jerusalem was in a certain direction, and as they 
journeyed they kept their faces in that direction. So 
should it be with every soul liberated from the thral- 
dom and power of sin. Ever keep the face to the light 
as Christ gives it. 



LXXII— BAPTIZED FOR THE DEAD— WHAT 
DOES IT MEAN? 

Peter is not the only person who has found some 
things hard to be understood in the writings of Paul. 
See 2 Pet. 3:16. We are quite sure (hat many are 
they who have thought Ihis is true of 1 Cor. 1.1:20, 
which reads : 

"Else irhat shall t licit do which are baptized for the dead, 
if the dead rise not at all/ Why are they then baptized for 
the dead?" 

Various explanations have been given, but most 
of them of doubtful interpretation. One which will 
show the character of some of (hese efforts, is found in 
the Pulpit Commentary, which, in discussing this pas- 
sage, says: 

"This clause (baptized for the dead) can have but one 
meaning, and that its obvious one, namely, that among the 
many strange opinions and practices which then prevailed, 
was one which was entirely unwarranted — but which St. Paul 
does not stop here to examine — of persons getting themselves 
baptized, as it were by proxy, for others who had died. 
Doubtless some of the deaths alluded to in Ch. 11 : 30 had 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 193 

happened to persons who had been cut off before they were 
actually baptized; and their friends had as it were gone 
through the rite in their stead, in the hope of extending souk? 
of its benefits." 

Of all the attempts at explaining a passage of 
Scripture, that is by far the most far-fetched of any- 
thing Ave have seen. How ridiculous that Paul, inspired 
of the Spirit to write the truth, should write such a 
statement without a word of condemnation. We can- 
not believe it, and the more can we not believe it, when 
there is a much more reasonable and /satisfactory 
explanation, which seems to be in perfect harmony 
with the general drift of the argument presented. 

In getting an understanding of this verse, we 
must consider what Paui is discussing. It is not 
baptism, but the insurrection of the dead. Having 
presented his argument on the resurrection, he now- 
appeals to the Corinthians for their judgment in the 
matter, and he says: 

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, 
if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the 
dead?" 

Now Paul simply means to say to the Corinthian 
Church, If there he no resurrection from the dead, as 
some claim, then what shall all of these do who have 
been baptized upon their faith in the resurrection of 
Christ? It is true that in the Greek the word 
dead is in the plural, but that is in perfect harmony 
with the facts involved, for not only had Christ arisen 
from the dead, but a good many others did also rise on 
the occasion of the crucifixion, when the graves opened. 
Thus the passage simply means that people of the 
Corinthian Church were being baptized on their faith 
in the resurrection of Jesus, and all others who had 
been raised from the dead by the mighty power of God. 



194 FORTY YEARS ON TEE FIRING LINE 

Simple enough, isn't it ? See Matt. 27 : 52. Under- 
stood thus, there is no difficulty in the passage. 
Instead, it becomes a most beautiful expression of 
divine thought in Paul's great argument for the cer- 
tainty of the resurrection of the dead and stands as a 
mighty buttress, giving support to a foundation truth 
in Christianity. 



LXXIII— A PLEA BEFORE THE LORD. 

We undertook great things for the Lord in the 
days of my pastorate at the Memorial Christian 
Temple. I mean, of course, great things considering 
the strength of the church. This was especially true of 
our effort for the spread of the gospel. We learned 
to love William Carey's motto : 

"Under take great things for God — 
Expect great things of God." 

When we recall the fact that only three or four 
years before the Temple itself was a mission, supported 
by the mission funds of the Church at large, it does 
seem to have been a marvel of development. Not only 
the people of the churches of other denominations in 
the city, but our own denomination, far and near, were 
surprised at the forward leaps of the church. It was 
a common thing to hear people of other churches say : 

"I do not see how it is possible for that little church to 
accomplish such wonders in the way of raising money." 

It was known that they were few in number and 
that they had very few 7 members who were well-to-do, 
financially, among them. Of the eight or nine well-to- 
do families in the membership, only one or two would 
help in raising missionary funds in a liberal way, and 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 195 

yet that church never came under a thousand dollars 
a year in clean cash for missions, after it once began 
the good work, while I remained with them. Several 
times it went as high as eleven, twelve, and thirteen 
hundred dollars a year, and they gave not grudgingly, 
but gladly — there was no man in the church who could 
record the gifts as fast as they were named by the 
givers. This was no spontaneous or spasmodic affair 
— It came year after year on the second Sunday in 
June. The appeals were simple, almost no begging. 
Deacon A. M. Eley usuallj 7 announced to the people 
present that we were ready for their annual offering 
for missions, and that was the signal for the work to 
begin. In a short time the pledging was over and the 
congregation dismissed as on other occasions. I 
remember that our first annual offering amounted to 
|950 in pledges, but when we had finished collecting 
the same prior to going to conference, we had a round 
one thousand dollars. I think that was the first time 
in my experience when the actual cash exceeded the 
amount of pledges given. 

How the money was raised was a mystery to most 
people. They could not understand how it was possible 
for a small membership of persons in very modest 
circumstances to give so liberally, for they not only 
pledged the money, but they gave the cash. No doubt 
it did mean sacrifice to most of the givers, but they 
gave gladly and seemed to enjoy the privilege. 

If any man can tell how it w T as that they raised so 
much money, that man ought to be this writer, for I 
was with them in the work they did and knew fully 
of most of their joys and their sorrows and of the self- 
denials they made. 



196 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

If it were my business to tell how the church did 
its work so well and with such a liberal hand, both 
spiritually and financially, I should not hesitate to give 
my opinion. It was the result of a deep spiritual life 
and much importuning prayer. They were thus 
brought close to God. Coming close to God, spirit- 
ually, always results in doing whatever He requires 
and doing it with real joy. God in us is the source of 
the Christian's enthusiasm, and God in His people's 
hearts makes them equal to his demands upon them. 
There was much praying. For weeks before the annual 
offering there was much preparation. The pastor endeav- 
ored to preach fruit-bearing truths. He urged much 
prayer, and many of the congregation were praying 
people. They prayed for power to give, and the power 
came. 1 recall one instance. A brother was not strong 
physically, but he was deeply interested in the outcome 
of the day. He labored and prayed even to the point 
of much fatigue. When Saturday night came, he was 
impressed that he ought to spend the entire night in 
praying for the coming of I he power upon the people 
and upon himself for the offering (hat was to be made 
the next morning. He undertook it, but he had 
been in prayer but a short while when exhaustion set 
in and he realized that he was physically not able to 
endure the strain of all night in prayer. Then he gave 
up to the demands of sleep, but before closing his eyes 
he told the Lord just how it was with him, that he 
really wished to spend the night before Him in prayer, 
but as he was physically unable to do so, he asked the 
Lord to look upon his weary body all through the night 
as a petition to Him for power for the service of the 
next day, that the church might do its whole duty and 
thereby glorify His Son, Jesus Christ. With that 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \ ) 197 

prayer offered he wenl to sleep, and the next day the 
victory was another wonderful display of divine power. 
The Holy Spirit came upon the people, and when the 
opportunity was given, the offerings poured in li'l 
more than $1,000 was pledged. 



LXXIV— "IT WAS A GREAT DAY." 

It was the day of our first annual missionary 
offering in the Memorial Christian Temple, and I think 
I shall never forget it. After the great revival, which 
lasted seven weeks, there was quite a missionary 
awakening. The people had gotten such a full taste 
of the gospel that they were anxious to give it to all 
other people. That is one effect of a good taste of 
gospel truth, those who truly know what it is are 
anxious to have every one know r something about it. 
I believe it was Alexander Duff, the distinguished 
missionary to India, who said when he had no concern 
for his own soul, he had none for the salvation of 
other people, but when he became awakened and 
alarmed for his own salvation, then he was deeply 
concerned for the salvation of other people. That is 
just about the truth of the matter. It was so with the 
people of the Memorial Christian Temple. They had 
been thoroughly awakened as to their own safety, and 
then they became greatly concerned for the spiritual 
welfare of the heathen. I think it was in February, in the 
meeting of the missionary society, when a brother who 
had not seemingly taken any great interest in the 
church, arose and made a motion that we undertake 
to raise enough money to send one missionary to the 
lands of darkness. Some one seconded the motion, and 



198 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

after discussing it, the motion was put and carried. I 
was shocked at the daring of such a thing, but since 
it was to be undertaken, there was nothing for me to 
do but to throw myself into the effort and do my best, 
and I did it with all my heart. From that day till the 
second Sunday in June, when the offering was taken. 
missions were talked up and prayed up in a remarkable 
manner by the lay-membership of the church. Our 
highest hopes were to raise enough to send one unmar- 
ried man to the foreign field. The second Sunday in 
June dawned auspiciously. A native of Armenia came 
into our service that day and preached for us. After 
the sermon a lew direct simple words were said to the 
people as to the offering then to be made and Deacon 
A. M. Eley proceeded to take the collection. The 
response was generous and most encouraging. At the 
close of the collection there was a real old fashioned 
shout among some of the members. It was the first 
time I had ever seen a collection end in a shout, but it 
was indeed a fitting ending of the morning service. 
At that time Dr. J. G. Bishop was Mission Secretary. 
He gave the church every encouragement possible. 
Instead of raising $600, the morning offering was about 
|800. One of the brethren suggested that the fact that 
the Lord had given to us in the morning collection 
more than we needed for sending one missionary was 
a plain hint that the Lord wanted us to give enough to 
send two missionaries. The suggestion met with a 
hearty response and ere the evening service had closed, 
we had so increased the offering as to make it practic- 
ally certain that we would send two instead of one. 
The church was jubilant over the blessings which had 
come to us that day. We went home that night from 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ \) 



109 




church feeling that we had been aboul the Master's 
business. 

A profound impression was made upon the com- 
munity by the liberal and joyous giving. The nev s 
spread rapidly, for it was a most unheard of thing for 

a little church in those parts of 
the country to give so willingly 
and even hilariously. 

The next evening I left Nor- 
folk by the Seaboard Air Line 
to attend a meeting of the Trus- 
tees of Elon College. It was an 
all-night ride, and as we had to 
change cars at Norlina, I did 
not take a sleeper. While wait- 
ing at Norlina, in my seat, and 
almost half asleep, I heard, two 
men in another part of the car 
talking. I w^as not trying to hear, but did hear because 
I had ears. I heard one say to the other : 

"I was in a great meeting yesterday, and I saw religion 
as I had never seen it before. I was at a church in Brambleton 
ward in Norfolk. They took a missionary collection and I 
never saw such giving." 

Of course that interested me, and I continued to 
hear, and I found that this man of business by some 
means had dropped into our service the day before, 
and the zeal of that people and their sacrificing liber- 
ality had made a deep impression on his mind and 
heart. I did not know him. I am satisfied he did not 
know me. He had, however, encouraged my heart and 
made me glad for the little part I had in that good 
work. The church soon became known throughout our 
denomination, and among many others as most liberal 
in its missionary offerings. 



Rev. J. G. Bishop, D. D. 



200 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LIXE 



THE END OF A GIANT 



In front of the Christian church at Chambersburg, Ohio, stood 
a giant — a grand old oak tree. It was supposed to be from one 
hundred to one hundred and fifty years old. It had every appearance 
of a giant tree in strength. It was not so tall, but its girth was immense, 
and its diameter above the ground must have been five feet. Its 
branches were wide-spreading, its body was massive, and so far as one 

could judge from its 
a p p earanc e, It was 
sound through and 
through. No one 
thought of any danger 
to the church from 
that tree, for we be- 
lieved it would stand 
longer than the church 
building would stand. 
It seemed almost a 
part of the old church. 
On July 12, 1<)14. I 
preached there. The 
old tree was as mas- 
sive as ever, the very 
picture of health and 
strength. On Monday, 
•Inly 13 (the next 
day), a storm came 
from the northwest, 
but we did not dream 
of any misfortune for 
the old giant oak, and 
ye1 it went down in a 
crash. injuring the 
church building slight- 
ly. Every one seemed 
astonished that the old 
tree went down under 
so light a storm, but 
when we got to the 
(•lunch and viewed the 
prostrate giant, it was 
no longer a mystery. 
The wonder was that 
it had stood so long. 
True, the outside look- 
ed like a giant, but 
the inside was rotten, 
till only a hull was left. It was no longer a wonder that it went 
down in the storm. Rather the wonder was that it stood so long 
with the inside rotten to the core. Now only an old splinter of 
the stump (as shown in the picture) remains to tell the story of 
its uoing down under the storm. 

How like the old giant oak is the life of many a church member 
— regarded by every one as a strong church member, and yet under 
some unexpected temptation goes down in a crash under the weight 
of sin. Only the outside looked like strength. Inwardly the life 
was like the old oak tree — rotten with sin and undone forever. The 
old stump of such a life looks much like the stump of the old giant 
oak as you see it in the picture herewith given. Is that the way 
with you. Reader? Is your heart right with God? 




Only a Splinter of the 
Remains 



<OId Giant" 



EXPERIENCES ALONG TEE WAY 201 

LXXV— QUICKER THAN THE WIRELESS. 

Early in October, L898, The AmericaD Chris! inn 
Convention met in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. I 
had planned to attend, but the illness of a brother 
delayed me two or three days. The Convention was in 
session before I could leave home and then I must 
hurry, or get there too late to have any part in its 
proceedings. Finally wife and daughter and myself 
left Norfolk, Va., in the early morning and reached 
Philadelphia after dark in the evening of the same 
day. At Norfolk, I had purchesed round trip tickets, 
but instead of giving me the tickets, the agent gave me 
tickets to Philadelphia, and then gave me an order on 
the Philadelphia agent for tickets for the remainder 
of the journey. When I approached the ticket office in 
Philadelphia, quite a crowd was ahead of me, but as I 
had ample time, I did not hurry. Finally the way was 
clear and I presented my order for tickets to New- 
market and return. The agent looked at the order, and 
then went around to consult others, and finally came 
back and told me that he could not give me a ticket on 
that order as it was not addressed to his line. 
I then asked him what I could do. He said : "Take 
it over to the office of the Philadelphia and Reading 
Railroad, and see if they can help you." I did so, 
meantime my train was almost ready to leave. When I 
reached the office of the P. & R. the agent did much as 
the other agent did — he hesitated and consulted others, 
and then regretfully told us he could do nothing for us, 
and for the reason that the Norfolk agent had made a 
mistake in issuing the order. There we were, wife, 
daughter, and myself, almost half way to the Conven- 
tion, only to find we could not proceed. The train on 



202 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRIKG LIXE 

which we wished to go was due to leave in about three 
minutes. We were helpless. In that moment of need I 
secretly turned to the Lord and asked Him to help us. 
At the same moment my wife did the same thing, as 
she afterwards told me. In one minute's time we got 
an answer. The agent who had just refused us, turned 
to me and said : 

"If you will correct the mistake of the Norfolk agent by 
making a short '&' where the agent at Norfolk has omitted it, 
I will give you your tickets at once." 

I never made a short "&" much quicker than I 
made it that time, and the agent issued the tickets and 
showed us the way to the train. As we stepped aboard 
the train, it pulled out from the station, and we were 
on the way, reaching Newmarket the next day at one 
o'clock. The wireless is beaten! Sincerely and de- 
voutly, I felt that this was the quickest answer 1 had 
ever had to prayer. This speedy answer is in keeping 
with God's promise in Isa. 65:24, which reads: 

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
answer ; and while they arc yet speaking, I Will hear" 

What a wonderful promise! 



LXXVI— THE ASSEMBLY OF TONGUES. 

It had been a hard and trying day of work. The 
work was hard enough to try the strength and courage 
of any ordinary man, but when to it must be added 
the extra burden of a godless and senseless talk on the 
part of thoughtless people, the burden was well nigh 
intolerable. Alas, how many pastors are heart-broken 
in a similar way ! Many seek to hinder rather than 
help the weary and heavy ladened pastor. It is a 



EXPERIENCES ILOKQ THE WAV 20:: 

shame that il should be so. II* people could only have 
common prudence, or a little horse-sense, il would save 
themselves from much wrong and greatly help the 

pastor in his arduous labors, and it would add greatly 
to his usefulness. But the great majority of people do 

not think — they talk, talk, talk, as if they would sow 
the wind with seed-thoughts and send them forth upon 
an errand of destruction, never minding as to what is 
destroyed. This elass of men and women seem never 
to have learned how to confine their words to sphere* 
of usefulness. They are practically always blazing 
away with but a single thought, and that is to do some 
one an injustice, to hinder their usefulness, or to add 
a burden to some heart in its struggles for a better life 
and a richer fruitage. They are surely active workers 
in the church — with their tongues! 

The day named above had been peculiarly trying. 
The pastor had been called to a small social service in 
which he did his duty as lie saw it, but some one was 
moved to offer a word of criticism. It was offered in 
a field of dry stubble, and it caught quickly and spread 
rapidly. Each burning bush seemed to lend its flame 
to another, till the blazes were sweeping in many direc- 
tions, and the conflagration was general. Poor heavy- 
hearted pastor! 

That night after a hard day's work I entered the 
study, and without turning on the electric light, I 
threw myself on the lounge, and as I thought of the 
situation and the experiences and the trials of the day, 
there seemed to form before my closed eyes a mental 
picture, the like of which I had never looked upon 
before. A multitude of faces seemed to form an oval 
group, and from each face a tongue was wagging, as if 



204 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

seeking to pull one down by an evil report. Each one 
seemed to be bent on disparaging my work. The 
picture was one not to be forgotten. It was repulsive 
in a high degree; It represented the true situation 
then confronting me — thoughtless, senseless, tongues, 
wagging at a man in the discharge of his duty. After 
looking upon the mental picture longer than was for 
my good, I turned away, but the picture would not go 
— it is still a vivid creation in my memory. I see it 
now as 1 saw it then. It will not disappear, but as I 
turned away from it that memorable night, something 
else happened, or rather another picture was given me, 
and as I, wearied and reclining on a couch, saw it, my 
heart was made to rejoice. It was a double picture. 
I saw the walls of Jericho falling in answer to faith, 
and I took courage 4 . The scene passed before my mind 
as a panorama. I saw the walls standing in then- 
splendor, then came the sturdy old heroes with the 
rams' horns blowing. It was tin 4 victorious charge of 
Faith, and then I saw the walls begin to totter, and 
then leveled in the dust. Like a stereopticon picture 
thrown upon the wall, ere it passed, another came. 
This time I heard I he song of Moses from the women 
of Israel — they were singing, "The Lord hath triumphed 
gloriously." I seemed to see the chariots of Pharaoh, 
the horse and the rider, going down into the sea to- 
gether — the waves covered them all. Then there came 
over me such a sense of victory as I had scarcely ever 
dreamed of — it seemed to me the field was clear, the 
enemies had been swept away as by the breath of the 
Lord, and I was rejoicing, and there, alone in the dark- 
ness, for one time I shouted the praise of God aloud. 
It was the promise of victory! I arose and went into 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W LI 205 

the parsonage and told my wife of what a time of 
rejoicing I had had thai nighl — what scenes of spirit 
ual conquest had passed before me, how hope had been 

born anew, and how courage had conic hack — th.ii by 
(rod's help I was ready to go on — ready for the con- 
flict. It is true I could not get clear of that assembly 
of tongues, for I see it yet, but thank God, it is also 
true that I cannot get clear of the scenes of that night of 
the falling of the walls of Jericho and the sea swallow- 
ing up the horse and bis rider with Pharaoh's chariots, 
all going down together — a lit symbol of victory over 
the tempter. It all seems to mean to me to-day just 
what it did then — the conflict is on, but the triumph 
is coming. The enemy is strong and vicious, but God 
is almighty, and He will prevail. The conflict was 
severe and trying, but the victory was glorious. I do 
not, in any wise, feel worthy of such help and such 
encouragement, but worthy or unworthy, God is good 
and ever ready to lend the helping hand to the man 
who is earnestly seeking to do right — to be true to the 
truth and to God and the interests of His Kingdom. 



LXXVII— JUST ONE MORNING WITHOUT 
PRAYER. 

One of my life-long friends, at least after I entered 
the ministry, was the late Colonel Alexander Savage 
of Norfolk, Va. He was very positive and commanding, 
but with it all he was an ardent lover of the Christian 
Church and ever loyal to its enterprises. He once gave 
to me in a private conversation an account of his con- 
version. After that I could not doubt that a work of 
grace had been wrought in his heart — he could never 



206 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

have known such experiences of grace had he not been 
forgiven and born again. 

He was a man of marked personality, a strong 
mind, and great energy. During the Civil War he 
commanded the Thirteenth Virginia Cavalry. He was 
brave and a good commander. One of the most remark- 
able incidents occurred while he was in the army. He 
made it the rule of his life to begin every day with 
prayer, but on one occasion, in the early morning, when 
they were expecting to go into battle, one of his men 
insulted him. He lost his usual equilibrium, and for 
got to pray that morning. Soon he led his men to the 
line of battle, but just before reaching the line, he was 
shot and lost his right lower limb. It was the only day 
in which he neglected prayer through the Avar, and it 
was the only lime he was wounded — a strange coinci- 
dence surely. He did not say that his neglect of prayer 
was the cause* of his misfortune, but he never could 
entirely disassociate the two. 

As he grew older he became more dissatisfied with 
his Christian experience, and as he had known the 
blessing of forgiveness of sin, he engaged much in 
prayer that the Lord would not leave him to himself 
and his sins. As he grew more distressed over his 
coldness of heart, he prayed more 1 to be saved from 
the curse of sin, and at length he begged the Lord 
to save him, no matter what it might cost in his 
life — he wished Him to do anything to that end, except 
one — if necessary, take health, or property, or any- 
thing else, except one, in order to save him. The one 
exception was his wife. He did not feel willing to have 
her taken away, not even for his own spiritual welfare, 
and that is the way he left the matter with the Lord — 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 207 

take from him anything to do him spiritual good, 
except his wife. Strange as it may seem, some little 
time after this prayer was offered, he left his home one 
afternoon to visit his sister in Nansemond County. 
When he returned the next day a man was at the 
wharf to meet him, and as he stepped ashore from the 
steamer, the first thing he said to the man meeting 
him was: "Well, how are you all?" "Oh, Colonel, 
your wife is dead." She had passed away while she 
slept the night before. The one thing he had excepted in 
submitting himself to the Lord, was the one thing that 
was taken from him. He related this incident to his 
pastor on the day of her funeral. It is suggestive to 
say the least, and well worth the serious thought of 
other Christians. 

Col. Savage was a man who did not know how to 
forsake a friend in time of adversity. One one occasion 
I saw him tested. He was a devoted friend to the late 
Rev. John N. Manning, who was a man of remarkable 
pulpit power, and a man of high character, but there 
came a time in his life when a combination of circum- 
stances, for which he was supposed not to be respon- 
sible, came near crushing him. When the trouble was 
at its zenith, the conference was in session. A brother 
minister told Bro. Manning that he was ashamed to be 
seen in his company. That hurt him terribly. During 
the recess hour Col. Savage heard that such a state- 
ment had been made to his friend. When he went into 
church for the afternoon session, he walked up to the 
seat where his wounded friend was sitting, and seating 
himself beside him, he said: 

"I am not ashamed to sit by you." 





■a 
z 

■ 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 209 

He raeanl vx^vy word of it. Rev. John N. Manning 
was one of the besl informed men, and as people gener- 
ally believed, was one of the besl of men. Ee did a 
great work in his day — his influence is si ill fell in the 
Southern Christian Convention where he spenl his life. 
He, too, was a true friend, and as true as steel to his 
convictions. He suffered, but he did not surrender 
and I delight to honor his memory. 



LXXVIII— THE WORTHLESSNESS OF A 
BROKEN VESSEL. 

One of the most singular expressions of a man's 
estimate of himself Ave find falling from the lips of 
David, apparently just after Absalom's revolt. As the 
King looked upon his kingdom imperilled, and saw 
himself so helpless, in his bitterness of soul he cried 
out: 

"/ am like a broken vessel" — Psa. 31 : 12. 

Could any language be more hopeless, or could it 
be more expressive of his keen disappointment in the 
situation then confronting him? The language means 
so much and is so far reaching. Think of David's con- 
ception of what he had come to be, though yet a king ! 
He said, "I am like a broken vessel !" In what respect 
was he like a broken vessel? 

In the first place he saw his kingship demolished — 
and that was to him as the taking away of the glory of 
his life. He looked the situation full in the face, and as 
he saw all gone, he involuntarily likened himself to a 
broken vessel. The expressiveness and full meaning 
of this comparison will dawn, if you stop to think. A 



210 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

broken vessel is utterly worthless. Even if you have 
it mended, it will cost more to mend it than a new one 
would cost. Think of a glass pitcher broken in pieces ! 
To mend it will cost many times more than a new 
pitcher would, and so even if the broken vessel is 
mended, it can never be profitable, and for the reason 
that it has cost so much more than a new glass pitcher 
would cost. Suppose you do mend it, it can never 
become profitable because a new pitcher costing less 
would do all it can ever do, and the extra cost for 
mending it will find no compensation. 

Let me illustrate. Suppose my glass pitcher, one 
that T prize highly, is broken. I can get a new one for 
fifty cents. To mend the old one will cost me two 
dollars. But because I like the old one so well, I spend 
that extra $1.50. All the mended pitcher can ever do 
for me is to give the service the new one would have 
given me, leaving me out of pocket $1.50. Now how can 
my mended pitcher ever pay me? Do all it can, it can 
only do what a 50-cent pitcher can, and would do, and 
yet because I like it, I spend the $1.50 extra to have it 
in my service again, even though it can never pay me. 
Here I think David, when he says lie is like a 
broken vessel, became a type of fallen man. The text 
is just as true of fallen man in general as it was of 
David. Having fallen under the blighting touch of sin, 
all man can say for himself is: 
"J arn like a broken vessel." 

And that means it will cost more to restore fallen 
man than it would to make a new race, and yet because 
God so loved men, even in their fall, He would not 
give him up, but determined to mend him — to save 
him — no matter what the cost may be. He thus deter- 



EXPERIENCES ALONG TRE WAY 211 

mines to bring him back into active service — the service 

of love — though at such tremendous cost. 

Think of the situation! God found man, His 
own creation, down in sin and ruin. To redeem him 
will cost more than it cost to make him originally, but 
in the face of that fact the Lord, looking upon the 
noblest work of His hands, as a broken vessel, said: 
kk I will bring him back, I will mend him, I will redeem 
him, even though it cost many times his real worth," 
and He did it, though it cost Him the life of His only 
begotten Son, not that He could make such a man 
profitable, for his redemption would cost more than he 
could ever repay, but he redeemed him because He 
loved man. Love is the strongest tie in the universe. 
It holds when all else fails. 

As David saw himself as a broken vessel, so the 
Lord saw man in his fallen estate, helpless and worth- 
less. There was no way to make him profitable — He 
might save him, but He could not make him profitable, 
for his redemption had cost so much! Think of it — 
it had cost the grief of God for thousands of years, it 
had cost the life of the Son of God, wiio giving up the 
joys of Heaven and its glory, came to earth to suffer 
and to die in shame and ignominy — far more than it 
cost to make man in the beginning, and so there was 
no chance for redeemed man to be profitable. Till I 
saw this question in this light, I could never under- 
stand the meaning of Luke 17: 10, w r hich says: 

"So likewise ye, when ye have done all those things 
which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: 
we have done that which was our duty to do: 1 

Looking at this matter from the standpoint of the 
mended vessel, I see how we never can be profitable to 
God as servants — we have cost Him so much, even 



212 FORTY YEARS 02V THE FIRING LINE 

more than it would have cost Him to have made man 
over, and by reason of all mending cost in excess of 
what it would have cost to make man anew, he would 
be unprofitable. 

The profit is on the other side of the balance sheet 
— the profit all comes to us — we are enriched, made 
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ — verily we 
are not profitable servants, but we get the profits of 
God's great love. Like a man standing under the 
downpour of Niagara, the human family stands under 
the downpour of God's love — receiving the fulness of 
God. 



LXXIX— HOW THE MONEY-MAKING CHURCH 

SUPPER QUESTION WAS SETTLED IX THE 

MEMORIAL CHRISTIAN TEMPLE. 

For many years I have been uniformly opposed to 
the Church going into business to make money for the 
support of the Lord's work. The Lord's way to sup- 
port His cause is by the free-will offering system. My 
views were well known in the circle of my acquaint- 
ance, and yet in 1895 I received a call to become the 
pastor of iho Memorial Christian Temple, Norfolk, Va., 
a church which had largely helped itself financially by 
oyster suppers, ice cream festivals, and many other 
indirect methods of money-getting. The church knew my 
position, and yet it gave me the call. When they 
elected me pastor, they also (Heeled me president of the 
social union, which usually had charge of all these 
suppers and money-making schemes. I was informed 
of the election to both offices at the same time. I was 
strongly inclined to accept the work of the church, but 



EXPERIENCES lLONQ THE W I i 213 

to serve as president of the union which managed this 
money-making business was not at all to my liking. I 

had a suspicion thai my election as president was an 
effort to take time by the forelock and "rope" me into 
the business from the very start. I did not propose to 
be "roped." I spent a sleepless night in considering 
the matter and praying over it. My mind was practic- 
ally made up to decline the call purely because of this 
one feature. 1 finally mentioned the situation, as I 
saw it, to one of the deacons. He assured me that they 
knew my position, that they had no intention of hand- 
icapping me in any such way. Finally I accepted, and 
entered upon my work there September 1, 1895. It was 
not long till a supper, or something of that kind, was 
proposed. It was carried and the occasion was counted 
a success, although I had nothing to do with it. Then 
I began' to declare against that method both in the 
pulpit and in my pastoral visitation. In one of my 
sermons I boldly announced that I was ready to join 
"a starvation society" rather than resort to such means 
for making money for the church. It made quite a stir 
in the church, for when the congregation had been dis- 
missed, the people gathered in groups here and there to 
discuss the pastor's "shot" at the idea of the church 
going into business to make money. They could not 
say much against me because they knew when they 
called me just where I stood, and then I was simply 
maintaining my position. 

My stand against this business brought out no 
little talk in the community, till in a few months senti- 
ment was so awakened against the custom, that the 
money entertainments would not pay, and I was con- 
gratulating myself on the fact that I had conquered. 



214 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

when lo and behold, the evil broke out in a new place 
and seemed almost as bad as ever. I was distressed, 
because I fully believed that that sort of a thing would 
injure the church and weaken its spiritual influence, 
but what could I do? — the people seemed determined 
to go their way. I had faithfully done my part in 
taking a stand against the business. I was perplexed 
and chagrined, but the oyster supper came off on time. 

I thought much over the matter, for I felt that my 
work was practically at an end in that church, if this 
money-making business on the part of the church, as a 
body, was to continue. 

Soon after my failure there came a rainy Sunday 
evening, when only a few were in attendance. I 
instructed the sexton to arrange for service in the 
Sunday-school room. Then I dismissed the sermon 
I had prepared tor the occasion — 1 did nol wish to 
preach it to so lew. Alter a moment's thought I 
turned to Psa. 37, looking for a text, when my eyes 
fell upon verse Ave. It struck me as just what I needed 
tor that occasion. I used it. In my efforts to help 
others with that text, I got help tor myself. It read— 

"Commit thii ways unto the Lord; trust also in liim; and 
he shall bring it to }>ass." 

As I talked ro the people on those words, the 
question came to me: "If that is the thing for the 
church members to do, why is it not the thing for you 
(me) to do? Why not the thing lor you to do in regard 
to the oyster suppers, (>tcT' Then I got to thinking, 
and the more I thought, the more it seemed that the 
text was for me in that particular thing, more than 
for others even. At the close of the service, the con- 
gregation went home, but I remained in the lecture 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 215 

room for quite a while, with not a soul in the house 
beside myself. Once alone, 1 began to make a personal 

application of my text in connection with the oyster 
supper business, and the more I thought about it, the 
more 1 saw that it was the Lord's plain instruction to 
me, showing me how to dispose of the objectionable 
money-making methods used by the church, against 
which I had worked so hard without success. Why, it 
was simply to go ahead, doing all I could, but commit- 
ting the outcome to the Lord, trusting the ugly busi- 
ness to His care — that He could dispose of it and 
bring the church to do the right thing, although I had 
failed. That night the victory came. I made the sur 
render of my own will to Him, and definitely committed 
the matter to His keeping, with the understanding 
that, haying done my best to stand for the truth, He 
would bring the right thing to pass. Then I went to 
my home for the night, fully trusting the whole matter 
to Him — to bring to pass the thing that would most 
glorify Him and help His Church. 

I saw no sign of any change. Eyerything seemed 
to be just so. About ten days later, I receiyed a mes- 
sage from the most actiye lady worker in that 
sort of thing. The message w T as a surprise to me, for 
I had had no talk with her at all on the question. This 
was her message: 

"We will have no more oyster suppers. You can rest 
assured we have given it up and we are done with it." 

I served that church about seven years after that, 
but I never heard the matter mentioned again with any 
serious thought of going back to raise money in that 
way. The Lord had taught me a lesson as well as 



216 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING JLINE 

the people, and, though my lesson was different, no 
doubt I needed it as much as they did. 

Soon after that the church began to prosper in its 
own spiritual life. A great revival was given us, 
lasting for seven weeks in point of time, and in its 
effect it lasts yet in many ways. Then it was but a 
short while till the church increased the pastor's sal- 
ary — of its own accord without a suggestion from the 
pastor, and within a couple of years it was raising 
from $1,000 to $1,300 annually for foreign missions, 
and it kept this up for years and years, even after I 
retired from the pastorate. The church attracted 
attention far and near by reason of its great liberality 
to the missionary cause. I do verily believe that the 
beginning of the great revival in which many were 
brought to Christ and the beginning of its missionary 
career as the first church, from a missionary stand- 
point, in the whole 4 denomination, may be found in 
quitting tin 1 oyster supper business, and such like 
methods. Doing God's work in (rod's way is the only 
way to get the best and most fruitful results. God's 
way of supporting His cause is by the free-will offerings 
of His people, and there is no other right way. If you 
wish God's blessings upon the work of the church, 
then let that work be done in God's way. There is no 
compromise with God. 



LXXX— A SIGNIFICANT LESSON IN DIVINE) 

HEALING. 

While I was pastor in the city of N., one Friday 
morning as I sat in my study, making preparation 
for the coming Sabbath, suddenly my mind was 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 217 

directed to a certain family in the church whom I had 
not visited for quite a while. My first impulse was to go 
at once. Looking out I saw the rain was falling gently, 
but taking my umbrella I went. The family consisted 
of a gentleman, his wife, and two or three children, and 
two sisters of the wife. Reaching the home I rang the 
door-bell, when Mrs. M. appeared, and invited me in 
and to be seated. A few minutes were spent pleasantly 
chatting with the lady of the house when the two sisters 
appeared, evidently ready for a visit, as they had 
donned their wraps. I had just returned from a great 
meeting in New York City, where I had witnessed 
some remarkable manifestations of God's power. Of 
these things we had been talking, when the ladies 
wished me to excuse them, saying they must leave to 
meet a physician under special engagement. Then one 
explained that she had a tumor growing in her mouth, 
and that the doctor had told her that it must be 
removed, or it would soon be fastening itself in the 
jaw-bone. I then mentioned some very wonderful 
things I had witnessed in New York in the way of 
divine healing (not Christian Science by any means). 
Then the ladies excused themselves to go, but I noticed 
on reaching the hallway, instead of going out the door, 
they returned to the upper room. In a few minutes 
they again appeared in the room where I was convers- 
ing with other members of the family. Coming in, they 
saw I was surprised, and by way of explanation, the 
afflicted lady said: 

"I have decided not to go to the doctor, but to put my 
ease into the hands of the Lord!" 

"Very well/' said I, "if you have faith sufficient to 
do that, it is all right, but if you have not, then you 



218 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING ^jINE 

will do well to go on to the doctor." She insisted that 
she would trust the Lord to remove and heal the tumor. 
Then I suggested, if she was fully committed to that 
course, that we might unite in prayer, asking God for 
guidance in the matter and for faith which should be 
sufficient for the sister's need. We knelt and prayed. 
Arising from prayer, she still affirmed her purpose to 
commit the matter to the Lord. I then bade them good- 
bye, and went back to my study. That was Friday 
morning. The following Sunday morning among the 
first I met in the Sunday-school was Miss S,, the young 
lady who on Friday had told me she would trust the 
Lord for the healing of the tumor in her mouth. Her 
face was beaming with joy, and as she spoke, I saw 
that she was under some unusual excitement, but 
evidently it was of a pleasant nature. Alter greeting 
her in the usual manner, I said: "What is the matter 
with you this morning?" She said: "Oh, the tumor is 
shrinking and rapidly disappearing!" Her happiness 
can be more easily Imagined than described. For some 
weeks the tumor continued to decrease slowly. Then 
one Sunday morning again in the Sunday-school I 
saw she was running over with some newly-found joy, 
and again I asked her what was the occasion of her 
fulness of joy, when she made answer: "Why, this 
morning the tumor fell out of my mouth bodily, leaving 
no rawness and no sore whatever." The work had been 
accomplished by divine power. The physician had 
decided the character of the trouble, and had said if 
it were not soon removed, it would so imbed itself 
in the jaw that the jaw-bone itself would have to be 
removed, when lo, and behold, by a simple act of faith 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 219 

the tumor had been fully removed, leaving no trace 
of its presence behind it. 

To this day the tumor has not returned, while 
this young woman has given herself to the Lord and 
His service in a most interesting, even remarkable 
way. Elsewhere in this book will be found an interest- 
ing account of the conflict she experienced in making 
her full consecration. 



LXXXI— THE CRUMPLEBS. 

Within a few miles of my father's home in Isle of 
Wight County, Va., a family by the name of Grumpier 
lived. There was nothing unusual in the family when I 
first knew them, except that the father, w T ho was a 
laboring man, was drawn in his shoulders, so that he 
walked in a stooping posture. He had, if I remember 
correctly, five sons and three daughters. Augustus was 
the eldest, and my senior by several years. It was, I 
think, in the latter part of the "sixties' ' that he became 
a great sufferer from some strange malady. For years 
and years doctors studied his case and did all that 
medical science knew to do. Doctors came from a 
distance to see the diseased man, but not one was ever 
daring enough to attempt to tell what w r as the cause 
of the suffering, or give the name of the disease. He 
never improved, but steadily grew worse, till at times 
the poor diseased body seemed over-burdened with pain 
and weakness. I visited him frequently and could see 
from time to time that he was losing in the struggle. The 
pain was so dreadful that it robbed him of his eye-sight, 
it dislocated the jaw-bone, great horns came out on his 
body. His limbs were drawn and his fingers were 



220 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LINE 

useless. I recall the fact that he had a horn several 
inches in length to grow out at the end of his great 
toe, and if my memory serves me well, he had another 
to come out on the end of a finger. He could not see. 
he could not open his mouth but little, he could not 
move hand or foot, except one arm just a little from the 
elbow out to the hand. If you had seen one of his limbs 
on the roadside you would hardly have looked upon it 
as human flesh, it was so unlike nature. After he 
suffered in this way for a few years, the next brother 
was taken in the same way, and then the next, and the 
next, till all the boys were helpless. Later the sisters 
were taken with the same dreadful affliction, and so on 
they went for years till all of the children, except one, 
as I now remember, was so afflicted, and not one of 
them ever recovered. Augustus lived under such afflic- 
tion for eighteen years, the next brother tor twelve 
years, and the next lor eight, and so on to the last, when 
all of them died from the same dreadful disease, a 
disease which was never named, and for the reason that 
no physician knew what it was. 

This much of my narrative 4 may have 1 stirred your 
sympathy and moved your heart to true pity, but I 
must say that, so far as I now recall, I do not remem- 
ber to have ever visited a family so frequently, as I did 
this family, no matter how well they were as to health, 
or how comfortably situated they were as to worldly 
conditions, where the people were always so happy as 
was this afflicted family, [n the midst of their sorrows 
and sufferings, and they were intense above anything I 
have ever seen among human beings, they had the hap- 
piest experiences, their faces bright, reflecting their 
inner joy. 1 have seen them in great paroxysms of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 223 

pain, when the face seemed to express the torture of the 
body, but in a few minutes, as the pain passed away. 
the faces would immediately brighten as with a light 
from the lace of the Sun of Righteousness. 

All in all, I regard it as the mosl extraordinary 
instance of the sustaining grace of God I have ever 
seen given to mortals. They were not only sustained in 
their physical sufferings, terrible as they were, but they 
were reduced to want and became largely dependent 
upon their friends for the most ordinary comforts 
of life, and yet in the midst of it all, they were so 
contented, so trusting, so happy, and with all so full 
of hope — the blessed hope of a life beyond the shores 
of time, that the spectator could but look on in wonder, 
not at all understanding how such a happy life was 
possible under such conditions. I know of but one 
answer — they were filled with the peace of God which 
passeth all understanding. Never have I, anywhere, or 
under any circumstances, seen the text which Paul 
made famous, "My grace is sufficient for thee," more 
beautifully illustrated than in the awful afflictions of 
this dear family. While it was awful to look upon, I 
thank God that He permitted me to see such an unmis- 
takable illustration of the sufficiency of His grace. 

"Afflictions, though they seem severe, 
Are oft in mercy sent." 



LXXXII— A SURRENDER AND WHAT IT 
MEANT. 

It was during the days of our best work while 
pastor of the Memorial Christian Temple at Norfolk, 
Va. We had enjoyed a great revival, running through 
seven w^eeks. It was a time of heart searching, but 



222 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

during the weeks which followed the revival, we had 
unusual interest. Almost every one was active in the 
work. In the congregation was one little woman, a 
Mrs. Walker. She was very retiring and so timid we 
could hardly induce her to do anything in the way of 
church work. She would not teach a Sunday-school 
class. She said she could not. She would not offer 
prayer, she would do nothing, if she could in any way 
get out of it, — not through stubbornness, but through 
her natural timidity. She was a good woman and her 
acquaintances regarded her highly, but her timidity 
simply mastered her in all church work. One Thurs- 
day evening we had met in the Temple for a consecra- 
tion service. She was there. After a talk on the 
consecrated life, Ave invited all who desired to come into 
the fulness of the divine life to come to the altar and 
seek it. Quite a number came, and among them was 
Mrs. AYalker. I knew that she had been moved 
mightily to lake such a step and that she was in 
earnest, or her timidity would have kept her away. 
There was much earnest praying in the little company 
present. At length I undertook to instruct her in the 
matter of consecration, but I could get not one word 
from her in response to anything I might say. I felt 
helpless to do anything to encourage her. She simply 
remained in a kneeling posture, with her eyes closed. 
At length, though she would make no answer to any- 
thing I might say, she opened her eyes. At once T 
thought I saw the gleam of divine light upon her face. 
In a moment she arose from kneeling. She had not said 
a word, but happiness learned from her face in every 
look. At length she spoke in a very quiet way, giving 
expression to a sense of her joy in the new light she 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 223 

had found. The next Sunday morning she was at the 
Sunday-school bright and early. A teacher was 
absent. The superintendent invited Mrs. Walker to 
supply, a thing I had never known her to do, hut she 
did not hesitate one minute that morning — at once she 
went to the class, and from that day if she ever refused 
to do Christian work which came within the range of 
her ability, I never knew it. She had a marvelous 
change, just what the baptism of the Holy Spirit will 
bring to any one who fully surrenders to Jesus Christ, 
as Mrs. Walker did. In her case surrender meant 
everything, including great happiness in service. But 
her time was short. Within four weeks she was stricken 
with typhoid fever, and did not recover, but her last 
days on earth were days of joy and service — a blessed 
foretaste of coming glory. 



LXXXIII— A MUSICLESS PIPE OKGAN. 

The Memorial Christian Temple, while I served 
as pastor, had a new pipe organ installed. 
When Mr. Eayner, the builder, had finished, he 
took his seat by the organ and attempted to make 
music, but his effort was a failure. He seemed 
astonished, and looked about him as if it could not be 
possible that the organ was a failure. He took his 
seat again and made the effort, but with the same 
failure as before. He seemed puzzled to determine the 
cause of his failure. Then he began to test the pipes 
one at a time. After testing for a while, he came to 
a pipe that was entirely dumb. He had at least located 
the trouble, and yet he did not know what it was, he 
only knew where it was. The dumb pipe was removed, 



224 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING-LINE 

and on a close inspection he discovered a small piece 
of wood shaving hiding away in the recesses of the 
pipe. He quickly and carefully removed the obstruc- 
tion, replaced the pipe and then proceeded to make 
music, and — he made it. One little piece of a shaving 
had practically destroyed the power of that beautiful 
and sweet-toned organ — had rendered it helpless and 
musicless. 

As a minister it put me to thinking and gave me a 
lesson for both myself and the people. Looking upon 
the great organ, seeing its beauty and having every 
assurance 1 that it would make sweel music, and then 
to see it fail, and all for so small a reason, I was 
amazed, and began to talk to myself, and I reasoned 
out my case something like this: Said I, "If one small 
piece of shaving getting into a great machine like that 
will render it helpless and musicless, what may not 
one bit of sin lodged away in my heart do to make me 
helpless and useless in the service of God?" Then I 
thought about the tacts in the case, viz.: How many 
professing Christians there are to-day who love some 
one little sin, and because that sin is hidden away in 
the heart, the life is spiritually helpless and useless — 
it cannot give forth the music which the joy of the 
Lord produces in the life of the individual. One little 
sin! How it paralyzes! There are many people to-day, 
no doubt, whose lives of joy in the Lord's service have 
been destroyed because they are indulging one little 
sin in the life. When I see a Christian doing nothing 
and unhappy, I know what is the matter, and I at once 
think of the beautiful organ that would not, and could 
not, make music because of the little shaving on the 
inside. Brother, Sister, if your Christian life is not 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 225 

making music to the praise of the Lord, res! assured 
that sin is within and it is responsible, [f so, then do 
as the organ-builder did — get it out al once, lor you 
can never praise God aright till your heirt is cleanse 1 
from sin. Even one "little sin" will make discord in the 
music of your life. Sin is the menace of your life — 
give it no* quarters. 



LXXXIY— THE MIGHTY HAND UNDERNEATH 
THE SHIP— A STRANGE SIGHT! 

Although my pastorate witli the Memorial Chris- 
tian Temple, Norfolk, Va., was looked upon by people 
at a distance as a little heaven on earth, yet it was not 
all so favorable. The unusual success of the work 
there found many lips and tongues willing to spread 
the good news, and while there was much to make it 
like a little heaven on earth, there were moments when 
the situation was far from wearing a heavenly aspect. 
Hark clouds seemed to hang over my pathway, as if to 
make me fear, and many trials lurked by the wayside, 
as if seeking to cower me and so stop the good work, 
and I must confess that I was not always as buoyant 
as a Christian minister ought to have been. Many a 
time did these dangers drive me to my study and to my 
knees in prayer for courage to stand and to do the right 
thing. 

We had in that work men and women who were 
living a beautiful life, who were not afraid to use 
their tongues for praising God, but it was just as true 
that we had others who had evil tongues, and these 
were used in the most unexpected times and places to 



226 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



serve the devil. They were not only not slow to do it, 
but they were both bold and skilful iu doiug it. 

I recall one instance with vivid recollections. It 
was just after we had enjoyed a grand revival meeting. 
As I walked along the street one day, I was inwardly 
congratulating myself on the splendid spiritual condi- 




V Frail Crafl Upheld By \n Almighty Hand 

tion of the church. When I reached home I was told of 
the work of a certain woman who had been out "talking," 

and while there was absolutely no cause for what she 
had been saying, and while it did nol concern me per- 
sonally, she had spoken an evil word at the place and 
time when it caught like fire in the broom grass, and 
for a few short hours, it seemed to me like a cyclone had 
struck the church, figuratively speaking, working havoc 
in pulling it down more rapidly, if possible, than the 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ \) 227 

revival had built it up. II was the work of the wicked 
one, using one of our own imprudent members to pull 
down the cause. 

These seasons were by no means infrequent. Tliev 
came time and again. I well remember how many a lime 
my heart was so burdened because of those threatening 
evils striking at the very life of the church. Time and 
again I was sent to my knees as my only way to get 
help. On one occasion when a peculiarly trying situa- 
tion confronted me, I Avent to my study in the church 
and locked the door. I had a protracted season of 
waiting before, and talking with, the Lord over the 
situation, asking for deliverance from the impending 
disaster. It was while thus engaged that I had one of 
the most beautiful and comforting visions given me. 
Of course, it w^as mental, but it w r as none the less real 
and it brought me comfort which I cannot describe. 
As I was kneeling and praying it was much like a 
picture thrown upon the canvas, and I saw it, oh, so 
plainly. I think I shall never forget the hope it in- 
spired in me at that time, and it has been a great 
comfort to me in many a dark hour since then. In the 
vision given me I saw a sailing vesel at sea in a storm, 
the wind blowing and the billows rolling and under- 
neath the body of the ship I saw^ the grasp of a great 
and strong hand, the fingers w r ere projecting above the 
surface of the water, and almost immediately I was 
impressed that what I was looking upon in a vision, 
was really a symbol of the church in a storm, with 
dangers threatening, but steadied and upheld by the 
hand of the Master Himself. I took it as assurance 
that the difficulty in my work, which was so disturbing 
me at that time, would prove harmless, and for the 



228 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

reason that the Almighty hand of Jesus was holding 
in His grasp the situation, keeping His Church and His 
servants from danger. I arose from my knees with new. 
hope and a new purpose to press on to victory through 
Jesus Christ. It was only a vision, but it had proven 
such a blessing to me. My burdens had grown lighter, 
my hope stronger, my faith more vigorous, and my 
purpose more fixed. It was such a sweet experience. 
I was in no manner worthy of such comfort, but the 
goodness of the Lord, it is rich and full. It did not 
impoverish Him to give to me in a trying hour. 

Since that day I have many and many times been 
carrying a burden till it would seem as if my poor 
strength would give up, and then again the curtains 
of memory have been lifted, permitting me to recall 
the inspiring scene of the ship in a storm, upheld by 
(hat great and Almighty Hand, and it has stimulated 
me to press on, expecting to be upheld through it all, 
and to Ik 1 given a victory for truth and righteousness 
as tin 1 loving favor of a loving Father. Now I praise 
God for the burden that sent me to my knees and kept 
me there till Cod was pleased to strengthen me to stand 
in a hard place and still be His servant. If I had not 
suffered, I had not had the joy which that vision of 
the hand underneath the ship gave me. It is better to 
suffer with Christ and be comforted by Him, than to go 
free of suffering and have not the joy which He gives. 

"The joy of the Lord is the strength of His people." 



A mind — through which Christ thinks. 
A heart — through which Christ loves. 
A month — through which Christ speaks. 
A hand — through which Christ helps. 

— Frederick A. Noble. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE 11 n 229 

LXXXV— ARE YOU BUILDING Vol K BOUSE? 

Many of us greatly desire a house in which to live, 
but we do not seem to know bow to secure it We strive 
and strive to get rich, but alas, bow little do we know 
about how to do it! We lay up our treasures, expect- 
ing by and by to build a magnificent home, but before 
we are ready to build the moth and rust corrupt it all 
and it vanishes like a vapor, and then when we go to 
look for our new home, we cannot find it. 

The greatest Teacher the world has ever seen told 
us how to manage such matters. He said : 

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where 
moth and rust doth corrupt, and ichere thieves break through 
and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, 
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves 
do not break through and steal; for ichere your treasure is, 
there will your heart be also:' 

It seems a very hard lesson to learn. One is 
almost tempted to think that many people do not wish 
to learn it. Certainly many people do not learn it, and 
the result is, they go to Heaven, if they go at all, very 
poor. Let me tell you a story which I read somewhere, 
which illustrates this idea admirably. It is said a very 
rich lady who had much land and many tine horses and 
servants at her call for whatever she wished, died and 
went to Heaven. When she entered, she beheld a beau- 
tiful city, with many lovely homes in it, with now and 
then a very small house. After looking around for a 
while, she asked the keeper which was her house, and 
the keeper pointed out as hers a very small building. 
She remonstrated, saying there must be some mistake 
about it, for when in the world she lived in a very fine 
house. The keeper told her that this small house was 
certainly hers. Then the woman, pointing to a magnifi- 



230 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LFSE 

cent house, asked: "Whose house is that?" The keeper 
said : "That is Malinda Smith's house." "Malinda 
Smith's?" "Yes." "Why, Malinda Smith was the wife 
of my servant. You must be mistaken — that little 
house must be hers, and that fine house is mine." "No," 
said the keeper, "the fine house belongs to Malinda 
Smith and the small house is yours. You see it is this 
way. We here prepare homes for the people who are 
coming, but we have to prepare the home of the material 
which they send to us while in the world below. 
Malinda Smith gave not only of her means to the cause 
of Heaven, but she dedicated her life to the service of 
God, and so she sent us the 1 best she had in both money 
and service, and we put all she sent into her house. 
You see she did not live lor herself, but for the Lord, 
while she was in the world, and the result is she sent 
us material for her heavenly home, and we put it all 
in this building for 1km-, as you see it. In your case it 
was different. You had greal earthly possessions, but 
you gave but little, very little to the Lord's cause, and 
you gave very little of your time to God's service, and 
the resuli is you sent ahead of your coming very little 
material with which we could build your home, and 
this little house is the very best we could do for you 
with the materia] you sent us. If you had sent us more 
material, you might have had a better house, but as it 
is, this is the best we can do for you," and she was 
terribly disappointed because her servant's wife had a 
better place in Heaven than she did, and she thought 
it ought to be the other way, just as it was on earth, 
but Heaven's keeper did not think so. 

This may be only a story, but it gives out a much- 
needed truth, for in a sense we are laying up treasure 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \) 231 

on earth rather than in Heaven. Jesus told us not to 
do that, and for the reason thai thieves would break 
through and steal, and that rust would corrupt and we 
should lose it all. .Many do not believe what .J*»sus 
said, at least they do not act as if they believe it — they 
seem to take it for granted that they can do as they 
please Avith their talents, their means, their time — all. 
and still get a rich and beautiful place in Heaven for 
their home. For one, we do not wish to risk it, and 
we advise you not to do so : it is dangerous to your 
eternal interests. 

"Take my life, and let it be 
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; 
Take my hands, and let them move, 
At the impulse of Thy love." 

"Take my lips, and let them be 
Filled with messages for Thee ; 
Take my silver and my gold, 
Not a mite would I withhold." 



LXXXYI— AFTER I MAKE FIFTY THOUSAND 
DOLLARS, THEN— 

It is often true that we plan our work and then 
work our plans only to see them blighted. We lament 
our misfortunes, not understanding that the blight 
came because our plans were not in keeping with God's 
better plans for us. Sometimes we complain because, 
as we think, God has disappointed us, not remembering 
that His way later yields the peaceable fruits of right- 
eousness. 

I met a very remarkable character, a contractor, 
while living in Norfolk. The church rented a parsonage 
from Mr. C. T. Gordon. He was a near neighbor and 



282 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LfXE 

a fine business man. Naturally I got to know him well. 
His habits were good, his manner very quiet and 
straightforward. From the ordinary standpoint he was 
a model man. His one special short-coming was in the 
fact that he gave little attention to religion, not that 
he was against it, or opposed to it, but, to be plain, he 
neglected it. He simply sacrificed his spiritual welfare 
to his temporal interests — a mistake thousands are 
making every day. So far as making money was 
concerned, he was very successful, but in his last days 
he saw that his greatest success had been his greatest 
failure. 

I received a message from him on one occasion, 
indicating a desire to Bee me in his home. In answer to 
that message, I called on him and found him sick, with 
little hope that he would ever be a well man again. In 
his usual quiet way he stated the fact of his serious 
illness and then said that he wished to be instructed in 
the way of salvation. He realized that his time was 
short. Then in a heart-to-heart talk with me he opened 
to me his innermost thoughts as to his own life, 
especially as to his course in giving his life so 
exclusively to making money. As I understood him he 
was not a speculator, but a hard working man in a 
legitimate field of business. Nothing he said to me 
indicated that his life had been what we call immoral. 
He did a clean and upright business, but did it to the 
neglect of the higher ends of life. 

Only a few weeks before this interview his wife 
died, leaving him with the care of seven lovely children ! 
What a responsibility for a father to face, and 
especially knowing that he could be with them, at best, 
but a short time. The situation was enough to embar- 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE WAY 

pass the most courageous heart, in the absence of faith 

in God. Thus looking into the future, he made no 

charge against God of hard dealing with him. Pacing 

such a situation, he began to seek salvation as God's 

gift, as his only hope. The moment was one of the 

most solemn I had ever witnessed in the life of a 

fellow man. 

In this heart-to-heart talk, he very frankly said to 

me : 

"My wife and I have worked hard and lived economically. 
I had planned to lay up Fifty Thousand Dollars, and then 
retire from business and spend the remainder of our days in 
ease and pleasure. At length I have laid up the money, but I 
had not more than accomplished my purpose when my dear 
wife was taken away in death, and now with my aim attained, 
so far as money is concerned, I see that I, too, must soon follow 
her into the spirit world. And here are my children to be left, 
with some money it is true, but without father or mother, and 
I myself am not ready for judgment. I have sent for you in 
such a moment as this — I want you to teach me the way of 
salvation — the gospel way." 

I readily and gladly agreed to do all I could for 
him by way of instruction and encouragement and 
prayer. He was so quiet in this request that it seemed 
like a matter of business, and it was a business of the 
most urgent kind. He showed no excitement, but 
anxious solicitude and heart-hunger. I never saw any 
man accept more readily the teachings of the Word of 
God than did he. Soon he had accepted Jesus Christ, 
and he did it just as quietly as he would in health have 
closed a transaction in business. I never knew him to 
hesitate in accepting anything I said to him as to the 
truths of the way to God. He was the aptest pupil I 
ever taught in divine things. He seemed to have but 
one purpose, viz.: To learn the way of life and walk in 
it. In all of his sickness and suffering, I never knew 
him to show r a sense of being afraid. Though only a 



234 FORTY YEARS OY THE FIR1YG LIYE 

beginner, his faith was strong. I cannot forget how L 
shocked him one day when I was talking with him. 
He seemed to make such rapid progress in coming into 
the light of divine truth and the Christian life, 1 
thought it wise to put him on his guard, lest in a 
moment of victory, he might be tempted by the wicked 
one to doubt God's Word, and so in an effort to prepare 
him against such an assault of the devil, I said to him: 
,k In your hope in Christ, you may be tempted to doubt 
what God has done for you." The statement seemed to 
surprise him, and, as if shocked at the thought, he said: 
"Why should I doubt? It is all settled irith me." 
I had made a mistake. Instead of preparing him 
against the coming of doubt, I had come nearer to 
awakening doubt in his mind. He seejned not to under- 
stand why he should doubt — the very thought was so 
contrary to his spirit and hope that it well nigh stag 
gored him. 1 saw I had misconceived his danger, and 
I got away from the suggestion as quickly as I could 
honestly do so, and at the same time encouraged him in 
the triumphant faith in which he was living. 

Mr. Gordon saw his great mistake had been in 
making the getting of riches his first aim in life as a 
means of attaining happiness. He gained the money 
he sought, but did not find the happiness he thought 
it would give him, for in the moment of his success, 
financially speaking, Ik 1 had to turn from his money 
and turn to the Lord as his only hope of happiness. 
It seemed hard thus to have his plans all broken up, 
but was it in fact? If by the breaking up of his earthly 
plans, he was led to lay up treasure in Heaven, it was 
the best thing that ever came to him in all of his career. 
His whole life seems to be but a great object lesson 



ftXPEMMCM ALONG Till: WAV 235 

condensed into one admonition to his fellow mortals 
who may come to know of his experience, and thai 

lesson is sol forth in the words of .Jesus: 

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteous- 
ness; and all these things shall be (aided unto you" — Mail. 
6:33. 

Do you see the point of emphasis in that admoni- 
tion? It is not seek God second, or third, or in the 
last emergency, but first — let it be the first concern of 
your life to be "right with God. ,? 

I believe Mr. Gordon learned this lesson, not too 

late for salvation through Jesus Christ, but too late to 

make the best of this life in preparation for the larger 

life and service, both here and hereafter. This he 

realized, but he rejoiced in what had come to him even 

in a late hour. I sat by him in his last moments. He w r as 

clear and thoughtful. He gave instructions as to his 

affairs. After midnight, within a few hours of his 

death (the next morning) he had a note written and 

had enclosed a sum of money and directed it to be 

given to a friend w T ho had been to some expense for him 

in his illness, and then as the death angel came nearer, 

he steadily faced the situation and came to his end in 

peace, rejoicing in the blessed hope of eternal life in 

Christ. 

"O golden day when light shall break 
And dawn's bright glories shall unfold, 
When He who knows the path I take 
Shall ope for me the gates of gold! 
Earth's little while will soon be past. 
My pilgrim song will soon be o'er ; 
The grace that saves shall time outlast. 
And be my theme on yonder shore." 

In writing this sketch, I am hoping to give Mr. 
Gordon an opportunity which he did not enjoy after 
he came to his new-found faith — that of telling men 



230 FORTY YEARS Q\ THE FIRING LINE 

and women of his own mistake in life in not giving 
God the first place in his heart and service, and may 
the Spirit open the eye and the ear of the reader, to 
see and to hear, this message as from the tomb of one 
who, after bitter experiences in seeking happiness of 
the world, found only in God the desire of his heart. 
It is a great lesson which multitudes need to learn. 
Reader, will you learn it? Will you try? Xoic is the 
accepted time — not to-morrow, not next week, or next 
month, but now! 



LXXXVII— A MARVELOUS DISPLAY IX Mil) 
NIGHT DARKNESS. 

In January, 11)02, I was sent by the Mission Board 
of the Christian Church to visit our missionaries in 
Porto Rico for the purpose of giving them such assist- 
ance as I might be able lo give and also to gel informa- 
tion for the Board as to conditions and the outlook 
for our work on that Island. With me also went a 
party of live other persons, two of whom were going 
as missionaries to labor there. 

Leaving New York by the steamer Caracas on 
January 11, we started out in a regular snow-storm. 
We had not been at sea long till the weather was rough. 
I had been under a protracted strain in my work for 
several weeks, making ready for this trip, and there- 
fore when I had all the party sale on board the steamer, 
I went to my berth and spent the first few days in 
complete rest. The steamer rolled, but I did not get 
sick. Gradually we found ourselves moving out of a 
cold, and moving into a warm, climate. By Wednesday 
night the weather was delightful and the Captain 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 237 

told us we would see laud (Porto Rico) the nexl morn- 
ing. I was quite rested and the next morning I was 
up and oui by a bit after lour o'clock. Upper deck 
lights were burning. The southern sea-breezes woe 
soft and most delightful, and I was enjoying the fresh 
air of the morning. 

Soon after being seated, I observed a light in the 
distance ahead of us, and remembering what the Cap- 
tain had said the night before, that we would se.3 land 
early the next morning, I concluded that this was the 
evidence— a light on the shore. Soon a sailor came 
along and I asked him what light that was. He replied 
very promptly and politely by saying: kk That is the 
sun !" To say the least of it, I was disgusted to think 
a sailor had no more respect for a fellow-being than to 
tell him a plain lie. Why, in January at 4:30, it is 
as dark as it ordinarily is at midnight, and to say 
that the light in the distance was the sun was too 
ridiculous to entertain for one minute. I sat an fl 
watched the growing light in the distance, for while 
we could see it plainly enough, it was in the distance 
— for where we were there was no indication of 
approaching daylight — it }vas dark as midnight. 
While I could not believe it was the sun, I saw it was 
no ordinary light on the shore. It began to form in 
the distance a beautiful rim of gold in the shape of a 
partial semi-circle. I went to the berths of all our 
party and called them, requesting their presence on the 
deck. In a short while all were out to behold one of 
the most singular phenomena any of us had ever seen. 
With us the darkness was still akin to the midnight 
hour, but in the distance the sea was as a field of gold, 
and as a border for the darkness about us made the 



238 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

contrast wonderful. To every member of our party 
it presented a different scene. All saw the sea of gold, 
all observed the strange beauty of the gold as a border 
of the darkness, but beyond that each saw marvels of 
grandeur and beauty which the other members did not 
see. Between us and the golden light the surface of 
the sea was easily discernible. It was in this semi- 
light that we beheld the marvels of that morning. 
To one of our party there appeared to rise out of the 
sea the most magnificent buildings as in the heart of 
a great city. To another there appeared great animals 
reclining on the water, as an ordinary animal would 
on the land, only they were of heroic size. Instead of 
being of ordinary size, they seemed as large as ordinary 
buildings. One saw in the darkness what seemed to 
be an incoming tidal wave, something like fifteen feet 
high, closing in on us. We were not alarmed because 
we were sure it was all due to an optical illusion, but 
we were charmed with the magnificence of the scene. 
Now that I have related the facts, they seem peculiarly 
dull to me as compared with the scene itself, but there 
are times when language, and our ability to use it, 
fail utterly to give a true idea — it is so in this case. 
Soon after my return, I attempted to describe it in a 
public address, but when I had finished I realized I 
had fallen so far short of the actual thing that T was 
humiliated, and 1 have never since attempted to do 
such a thing. 

No doubt my reader is waiting for an explanation 

of this strange scene. All I can say, it proved to be 
just what the sailor told me that morning about 
4:30 o'clock — it was the rising of the sun, something 
like three hours in advance of the natural and regular 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAV 239 

time. At thai time we were going east. "Flic- sun was 
coining up from the eastern depths. Between us and 
ihe coming rays of sunlight was the apex of the water, 
and that apex was illuminated by the light of the sun. 
coming' up from the eastern side, producing in sonic 
marvelous manner this wonderful effect — the strangesl 
phenomenon I ever beheld in all the glories of Nature. 



LXXXVIII— A BRAVE FRIEND OF THE BIBLE 

I was a member of the Ecumenical Conference 
which met in New York City in May, 1900. Many of 
the world's great men and women were there, and 
among them was that great missionary champion, Rev. 
Arthur T. Pierson, D. D., then the gifted editor of 
The Missionary Review of the World, The chief 
interest in the great conference was missionary, of 
course. I recall one especially exciting incident. Some 
member of the conference made a thrust at the iner- 
rancy of the Bible. In the twinkling of an eye Dr. 
Pierson was on his feet, entering a warm protest 
against any such flings at the Word of God. He did it 
with a master hand and the enemy of the Word was 
silenced, at least for that time. Hundreds of the dele- 
gates rejoiced in the ability and courage of Dr. Pierson 
and in the swift-winged message which he sent forth 
in honor of his faith in the Bible. 

Dr. Pierson was one of the great preachers of his 
day, and a commanding writer as well. I heard him 
preach at Christmas time in 1896, in New York City. 
His text w r as: "A more sure word of prophecy" — 2 
Pet. 1 : 19. It was one of the really great sermons I 
have heard. He dw^elt largely on the sureness of 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ Till-: WAY 241 

prophecy. I recall now his elaboratioD of the thought. 
If memory is correct, he said there arc 333 prophecies 
in the Bible, referring to the coming of Christ, and 
declared that not only must each of these be fulfilled, 
but that each detail of each prediction must come to 
pass just as indicated, or the prophecy could not be said 
to have been fulfilled, and he dared to claim that in 
every instance in which prophecy had been fulfilled, 
every detail had been as carefully fulfilled as had the 
principal statement of the prediction. When he had 
concluded his argument, a profound impression seemed 
to be resting upon the great audience, viz. : That 
prophecy carries in itself the proof of its truthfulness, 
and that seemed to be the end of argument. The sermon 
was a great expression of Christian thought. 



LXXXIX— A HEROIC MESSAGE. 

True heroism is not as common as one might 
think. Xot every man who displays bravado ordinarily 
is by any means a hero under great trial. When there 
is no testing of the very life and character, it is a 
small matter to appear brave and enduring. It is 
certainly a different thing to face the trial which goes 
to the very bottom of one's being, testing every nerve 
and impulse and still be heroic. Thank God for the 
noble examples which have been given among ordinary 
men of just such conduct. These furnish the evidence 
of the presence of heroes among men, of men who will 
sacrifice all before they will do injustice to others, no 
matter how severely such injustice would bring to 
them the dearest pleasures of earth. An instance of 
this kind came under mv own observation. 



242 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

In the year 1901, my nephew, Rev. D. P. Barrett, 
the eldest son of my older brother, Deacon Joseph A. 
Barrett, went as a missionary to Porto Rico. The 
father's heart was tied to the boy by cords of love, such 
as no man can break. The going of the son was 
expected, and therefore the father had several months 
to prepare for the parting, but parting under such 

circumstances cannot be 
prepared for — the test can- 
not be made bj T thinking 
about it — not till the act- 
ual separation comes does 
one heart know the pain 
to be experienced in separa- 
tion from a loved one. It 
was so in this instance — 
not till the morning when 
the son was to say farewell 
did the devoted father know 
fully what it meant. The 

Deacon Joseph A. Dnrrctt , » ,, , . ,, 

keenness of the pain then 
was not in the mere ac1 of separation, but in the fact 
that the father had a strong conviction that they were 
parting for the last time on earth. The rest of us looked 
upon that thought as only a notion which was pressing 
him hard in the trial. He saw it differently— he felt an 
inward assurance that it was the last meeting till they 
meet in the Father's House on high. After the crucial 
ordeal was past, meeting the son, I said to him, "How 
did your father bear the parting?" The boy's heart 
was yet choking over the scene, and all he said was, "It 
was awful !" It was indeed a sacrifice for the Master's 
cause. 




EXPERIENCES ALONG THE \\ \) 2V.\ 

In due time the son reached the mission hold and 
began his work, sending home regularly lender mes- 
sages to comfort the loved ones, but at the beginning 
of the second year the dreadful news was sen! (o him 
that his father was ill. He could get mail only once 
a week, and as each mail day came, the letter from 
home brought the sad news that his father was no 
better. He grew very anxious, and then one day he 
felt he must go home and see the dying father. Just 
then he received a letter from home in which he was 
told that all hope for his father's recovery had been 
given up — that his father was very anxious to see him, 
but had long since given up that hope, and that it w r as 
then his father's wish for him to remain by his work, 
doing his duty. Then came in the next letter the last 
message to the son from the dying father. It was this : 
"Do not try to come to see me — I may be gone before 
you could reach me. I send my parting benediction. 
You have been a dear son to me — all I can urge upon 
you is, Be faithful!" 

Any son who ever knew the love of a tender father, 
can better imagine the feeling of that boy when he 
received that letter. Thousands of miles aw^ay in the 
dear old home of his childhood he could see the father 
in the last struggle with disease, passing away. Then 
he hurried to write a letter in reply, hoping that it 
might reach home in time for his father to hear it 
read. The following are extracts from the tender out- 
pouring of a son's love : 

Ponce, Porto Rico, March 22, 1902. 
My Beloved Father: — Your short note was received this 
morning. I am always happy to see your handwriting, espe- 
cially since you have suffered so much. The Lord has been 
good in leading and keeping you thus far, and His strong arm 
is able to keep you to the end. 



244 



FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG L1XE 



Your note brings a pain to my heart that uo words I can 
use will express. My father, you have loved me so clearly and 
cared for me so tenderly, that I feel this morning a joy and a 
sadness that surpasses all of my past experiences. When I 
look over my life of twenty-six years, I can never tell you the 
joy and comfort I have had under your tender and loving 
fatherly care. Could I go through my life's experience this 
morning and tell you how you have been my strength and my 
clearest love (including mother) you would be surprised, and 
yet not necessarily so. 

I well remember when you rebuked me, and sometimes 
chastened me, when I had done wrong. True, then I felt it 

was hard, but now I know it was 
the blessing of my life. 

"Well, too. do T remember the 
loving, prayerful care that you 
showed me in leading me to know 
the Lord as my Savior. I shall 
never forget the day (I see it as a 
picture now) when you came to me 
in the old home church (Antioch) 
while I was in company with four 
other boys, and ask(Ml us all to 
become Christians. I remember 
how you stood by me and pleaded 
with me till 1 was willing to give 
up all. [ndeed, I do praise the 
Lord, father, that your life has 
boon such a blessing to mo all 
my days. When you found me 
in the wrong, you were faithful 
to tell me. and you did it in such tenderness — that has 
often made 1 my poor heart break down. I cannot tell you 
now bow your influence lifted me up and helped mo along. 
After you bail led me to become a Christian, it was under your 
influence I was led to dedicate my life to the missionary work, 
and while doing this, I remember so well how you continued 
to make sacrifice after sacrifice for me. None but a father's 
and a mother's love would ever do what you have done for me. 
Dear father, I cannot name in detail all you have done for 
me. No doubt while working by my side in the field, you have 
prayed God to use you to approach me on certain subjects — 
that you might have wisdom to reach my mind and heart to 
accomplish best ends. All of these can never be forgotten in 
time. This morning when I read your letter telling me that 
there is no hope for your recovery, my imagination leaps for- 
ward in flight to the day when you and 1 shall meet again 
never to part, when all the dear ones who have gone before 
will be with us. No tongue can tell how I want to see you, 
but your heroic wish to have me stand by my post, impresses 




Rev. D. P. Barrett 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \ ) 245 

me with your unselfish spirit. In deference to your wish, 1 
shall not leave my work. At best the time for service is short, 
and I wish to use it, as I feel you have used your time and life 
for the Lord. My one desire, since I left you, has been that w r e 
might meet again while we are in the flesh, and since the 
coming of my first-born son, Reginald, I am so anxious that 
you should see him, but it is all right, the Lord's way is better. 
It is painful to give up this great desire, but I bow to my 
Master's will and way. 

I am so sorry that your last days on earth are so full of 
suffering, but I am assured that the Lord will give you grace 
to endure to the end. I am consoling myself with the thought 
that I am now separated from you, and that you will be just 
as near me when in Heaven as now\ So it is well. 

My heart is so burdened, and yet as I look through the 
mists of the earthly life, I know the darkness will pass away 
quickly and then we shall see as we are seen and know as we 
are known. By the Lord's help I shall bear it all, as I am sure 
you would have me do. True, I am in a strange land and 
separated from my dear ones, except my own little family here, 
yet I am comfortable — I have the love of God, a good home, 
and the companionship of a devoted \yife, and with all the rest 
I have many friends here also. 

It cheers my heart to know that everything that can be 
done for your comfort is being done. Were I not assured of 
this, I should be compelled to leave all and come to you at 
once. I know the love of mother and the family and the 
many friends will not allow anything to be left undone. 

And now, my dear father, I know all things are possible 
with God. If it be His will for you to go, I feel sure you are 
ready, and in His keeping all will be well with you. Remem- 
ber that no child's love can be more true than mine for you. 
I have not always been the child I should have been, but I 
thank God for such a father and that it is as well as it is. 

The dear Lord bless you, my father, and give you peace in 
Him, undisturbed to the end. 

Your faithful and most affectionate son, 

D. P. Barrett. 

On April 12, 1902, the end came — and, as the father 
had predicted in parting with the son, they met no 
more on earth. The son is vet (1914) standing by his 



246 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

post of duty in Porto Rico, preaching Christ to the lost 
and awaiting the time for the next meeting in the 
house of many mansions on high. 

"We shall sleep, but not forever, 
There will be a glorious dawn! 
We shall meet to part, no never, 
On the resurrection morn ! 
From the deepest caves of ocean, 
From the desert and the plain, 
From the valley and the mountain, 
Countless throngs shall rise again. 
We shall sleep, but not forever, 
There will be a glorious dawn — 
We shall meet to part, no never, 
On the resurrection morn." 



XC— PROFOUNDLY IMPRESSED. 

We arrived in the harbor at Ponce on Saturday 
morning January IS, 1<)02, just at daybreak. The 
great ship felt her way for the channel, almost 
as a blind man seeks to make sure of a good 
Foundation for the next step. Finally we anchored 
more than a mile from the shore, the shallow 
water making it unsafe for our ship to go 
nearer. There we had to wait till small boats came out 
to take us in. It must have been two hours after we 
cast anchor before we could get ashore. We were in 
a "pickle, v we could not speak Spanish, and the boat- 
men could not speak English. For once w T e found it 
exceedingly difficult to make a bargain. Through an 
interpreter we were just about concluding terms, when 
we saw a boat approaching offering the "white hand- 
kerchief salute." That was enough — w T e dismissed the 
other man and waited the arrival of my nephew and his 
wife. Then going ashore w T e were speedity introduced 
to many new experiences. Every Porto Rican who got 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WW 247 

a chance sought to cheat us. For instance, the wharf 

was nearly three miles from the city proper. We 

engaged a man to take our baggage to our stopping 

place at a certain price. When he delivered it, (lie 

price was nearly double. After this experience had 

been repeated several times in one way or another, I 

found myself saying: 

"Why these people are thieves — they do not deserve sym- 
pathy or help." 

Just then I found myself rebuked severely. A 

still small voice seemed to say to me: 

"If you and your ancestors had been kept in the depths of 
ignorance for more than four hundred years, what would you 
have been?" 

I could not answer, and then I felt I had been 
wrong in saying thej did not deserve anything. Every- 
where I turned my eyes it seemed to me that I could 
see written in large letters these words: "THE NEED 
OF JESUS CHRIST.'' Then I began to see the reason 
these people were so without conscience — it was because 
we Christians had not sent them the gospel of the Son 
of God. We had been enjoying our luxuries and ease, 
while they were held down in suffering, sin, ignorance, 
and degradation. We had plenty and to spare. They 
were poor not only in purse, but in morals and educa- 
tion and religion. They had spent their lives mainly 
as serfs, the slaves of a few who were in better circum- 
stances. As I walked the streets of that city, I never 
witnessed such cases of suffering and degradation in 
all my life. Here was a man walking on his ^all- 
fours;" another was walking on his hands, backwards, 
dragging his feet and limbs after him; here is an old 
woman, so afflicted as to look like something else than 
a human being, if possible; here is a mother whose 



248 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

child was born during the great cyclone which swept 
the island soon after American occupation — the child 
had the "water-head," measuring nearly a yard under 
the chin and oyer the head, and she declared that this 
malformation was due to the tact that the cyclone gol: 
into the child's head at its birth. Everywhere we had 
incontroyertible evidences of the need cf Christ in 
Porto Rico. We dare say that is true of all heathen, 
or semi-heathen, countries. If the men and women in 
the Church could get one goo;l look at the moral and 
physical conditions of heathen lands, they would either 
give up Christ, or do something to make Him known to 
the lands of darkness. Well did Christ say, 

"Go ye into all the world ami preach the gospel to every 

creature," 

and that is yet the great work of the Church. Here 
we are face to lace with the highest duty ever imposed 

on men and women who are vet in the flesh. 



XCI— WHO STRUCK ME IN THE MOUTH? 

Rev. P. T. Klapp was the Father of Foreign 
Missions in the Southern Christian Convention, 
and did very much to bring about the sending 
of Rev. I). F. .Jones to .Japan, and therefore 
he has a large interest in the Japan Mission. 

In the latter days of the last decade of the nine- 
teenth century, I spent a few days with Brother 
Klapp in a series of meetings at Ingham, Va. It fell 
to my lot to preach every day. One young man, a 
member of the church, at that place, did not like my 
preaching, especially did not like the doctrine of the 
sanctifying power of the Spirit as I preached it, and 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE W \ ) 



249 



because tie did not, he made il a poini to do everything 
he could to hinder the effed of the truth, lie went 
from person to person during recess and talked, saying 

many ugly things against me. Finally he would not 
attend the service. The hour for the last sermon of the 
series had come, and I was in the pulpit preaching. The' 
young man was out as usual talking. As the people 
for the most part were in the house, he did not find it 

easy to get a hearing, so he 
went just across the road to 
a store kept by Mr. J. 0. 
Pierce, who was sitting at 
his desk writing. Mr. Pierce 
was an Episcopalian, but he 
believed the doctrine as I 
taught it. As the young man 
entered the store, Mr. P. 
looked up to see who it was, 
but kept on writing. Then 
the young man began to 
pour out his objections to 
my preaching and to say 
many ^severe things about me. The proprietor listened 
to him, but kept on at work. Just then lie heard some- 
thing fall, and looking up, the young man was not to 
be seen. He arose from his desk and proceeded to 
make an investigation. He found the young man on 
the floor speechless. Picking him up and laying him 
on the counter, he began to do what he could for his 
relief. After a short time the young man came to 
himself, and the first thing he said was: 




Rev. P. T. Klapp 



"Who was it that struck roe in the mouth?" 



250 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

Mr. Pierce assured him that no one had done so, 
and the young man seemed puzzled, saying : 
"I thought some one struck me in the mouth." 

He seemed greatly puzzled and became quiet for the 
time. We have no explanation to offer of this strange 
occurrence. We have given it just as Bro. Klapp gave 
it to us weeks afterward. I knew nothing of the inci- 
dent the day it occurred, for at the close of the sermon, 
I went immediately to the train and left for home. 

Bro. Klapp told me of another very singular occur- 
rence which happened in one of his meetings. A very 
wicked man in the community, where the series of meet- 
ings was in progress, was doing all he could to hinder 
the success of the meeting. His opposition continued for 
several <la\s. At length Bro. Klapp publicly prayed 
for him, that he might be convicted, led to repentance 
and salvation. If this could not be done, then he 
prayed the Lord to kill the man. Of course some one 
hurried to tell the wicked man of the prayer the 
preacher had offered for him. When he heard of the 
prayer that Avas offered for him, his conscience smote 
him, and he became restless and uneasy. Before the 
hour to retire that night came, he was stricken with 
sudden illness, and fully believed the minister's prayer 
was about to be answered. Then he became very peni- 
tent and cried for mercy. I do not know what became 
of him, whether he found peace or not. T hardly think 
he did, as fear rarely works true repentance, and no 
doubt his crying was prompted through a fear that the 
preacher's prayers might be answered. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 251 

XCII— AFRAID TO SURRENDER TO JESUS. 

One of the most singular incidents came under my 
observation while serving as pastor in the city of 
Norfolk, Va. One bright afternoon while seated in my 
study, I heard a gentle rap on the door. I opened the 
door, and before me was a well-dressed young lady, and 
greeting her I invited her to come in; she did so, saying 
she wished to talk with me over some spiritual difficul- 
ties. She was a member of the First Presbyterian 
church. She explained that she had come to get my 
advice rather than go to her own pastor, not that she 
had anything against him, but she had an idea that I 
would sympathize w T ith her trouble and could help 
her more readily on that account than her own pastor 
could. I assured her if I could be of the least help it 
would be a pleasure to do so. 

At once she proceeded to put her case before me. 
She had been for quite a while a member of the church, 
but she had not been happy in her religious experience. 
She felt the need of a fuller consecration to the service 
of God. "But," said she, "I am unable to do so — some- 
thing seems to stand in my way. I do not know 7 what 
it is, but I just cannot yield unto the Lord as He would 
have me do." 

I talked with her and urged a full trust in the 
wisdom and goodness of God, assured that He will do 
that which is right and for her good. But she insisted 
that she could not make the surrender. Then I sug- 
gested that she must pray for help to do the thing that 
the Lord was asking of her. To this she readily agreed. 
We knelt then and there, and asked the Lord to reveal 
to her the nature of whatever hindrance .stood in the 
w r ay of yielding her life fully to the Lord. At the close 



252 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

of the prayer she still insisted that she did not know 
what the trouble was. I opened the door of the study 
and she, passing out, stopped just a moment on the 
steps, as if she would say something more. I waited 
and she talked, and in less than five minutes she had 
told me the secret of her unwillingness to yield to the 
Lord her life in a full surrender, and it was this: She 
was afraid, if she did that, that the Lord Avould not 
let her deyote her life to His cause in the way she 
wished to do it. At once I tried to show her that she 
ought not to wish to do anything which the Lord would 
not have her do, and that she could well afford to yield 
to the Lord, being assured that He would not withhold 
from her anything that was good and wise. 

She said that seemed reasonable, but she was 
unable to accept it as true. Then she told me just 
what the whole trouble 1 was. She 1 had dedicated her 
life to the Lord for service in seeking to rescue fallen 
women and girls, and she 1 had in some way got the 
impression that if she yielded her life unto the Lord, He 
would not permit her to do that work — that she 1 would 
have to do something else, and she was not willing to 
take the risk. All I could do lor her was to urge her 
to trust the Lord with her Future 1 usefulness and make 
the surrender, but she would not do it. As she started 
back to her home, I asked her to let me know how she 
got along *with the matter of making the surrender. 
She said she would do so. In a few days she came 
back to tell me that she had gained the victory over her 
fears, and had made a full surrender of her life to the 
Lord, and w T as simply trusting Him not to take her 
chosen work from her. One thing was very clear, she 
was very happy now, whereas before she was very 



EXPERIENCES AfX)NG THE WAY 253 

miserable. Her face was shining as with a light from 
within, and she was willing to do just whatever the 
Master might give her as service. 

Then I lost sight of her for several months, when 
one day she suddenly again appeared at the study door. 
And what do you think she told me? Why she said 
since she had seen me, the Lord had graciously opened 
the way for her to attend the Moody Bible Institute in 
Chicago where she had received special training for 
the very work she so much desired to do in the Lord's 
service. Instead of taking the Avork from her, if she 
consecrated herself to His service fully, what He really 
did was to open to her a much larger opportunity and 
a much better qualification for doing the very work on 
which she had set her heart. 

This incident teaches us a very useful lesson. 
Consecration opens the w r ay for the largest fruitfulness 
in the Lord's vineyard. Instead of handicapping the 
life in service, it leads the way to the very best work 
of which one is capable. This being true, w^e should 
never let any price keep us from making the full sur- 
render to God. The greater the price we pay for full 
consecration to God, the greater wall be the reward in 
a life of usefulness here and the greater will be the 
glory w T e shall have with Jesus and the angels in 
Heaven. She lost nothing by surrendering to God's will, 
nor will any other lose by it, if the surrender is genuine. 



XCIII— AT THE BOILING POINT. 

Did you ever study Rev. 3: 15, 16, in its bearing 
on the secret of power in service? It is very instructive 
and emphasizes a thought which is very vital to the 



254 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

life, faith, and service of every believer. Let us read 
the verses: 

"/ know thy icorks, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I 
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art luke- 
warm, and neither cold nor hot, I tcill spue thee out of my 
mouth:' 

That is strong and decisive language. It is notr 
equivocal — uncertain. The speaker has decided views 
and he is thoroughly aroused over the condition of the 
church at Laodicea, and well he might be, for they were 
almost nothing — neither cold nor hot. They did not 
regard themselves as sinners, and the Lord did not 
regard them as Christians. Then what were they? 
Unquestionably they were backsliders — men and 
women who had once been followers of the Lord, but 
had drifted so far away from the truth as to lose their 
inheritance. 

The Lord sent them a message to the effect that 
He would prefer to have them to be one thing or the 
other. He said, I wish you were cold or hot. If you 
were cold, there would be some chance to make you 
see your need of a Savior from sin, or if you were hot, 
then you would be worth something in the service of 
the kingdom. As it is, you do not see your need of 
deliverance from self and sin, and you are not fit for 
service in the Master's vineyard. A pitiable state 
indeed ! 

The language of that complaint against the Laodi- 
ceans contains one of the great secrets of real service. 
The thought is not only divine, it is scientific as well. 
The English word hot is very much weaker than the 
Greek word which the writer used. The Greek language 
does not say: "I wish you were cold or hot, but it 
uses the stronger term, zestos, which in the Greek 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 255 

means "boiling." So what the sacred writer really 
said was, I wish you were boiling, and for this wish 
there was a good reason, and here a scientific fact 
reenforces the thought. It is well known that hot 
water is of little value in producing poAver. A tank full 
of hot water will never run an engine so long as the 
water is only hot, for hot water cannot make steam, 
and steam is power, but let it pass on from the hot 
state simply to the boiling point, and then we shall find 
power generated at once. You see when water reaches 
the boiling point, it is at once transformed into steam, 
and steam is a mighty power in service. An engine 
can never be run till the water in the tank is boiling, 
but when it boils, then it begins to shoot out its power 
till it moves the piston rod, and wiien the piston rod 
moves, then the engine moves, and because power has 
touched its vital parts. I think this is why the Holy 
Spirit, in the text quoted above, used the word zestos 
(boiling). He knew only too well that the formal 
Christian life had no power, and therefore He wished 
that the lives of believers might reach the boiling point, 
the point where the Christian elements in the life might 
be touched as by divine heat, till they should be trans- 
formed into power for service, for then, and then only, 
can the Christian be a real servant in the Kingdom 
of God. 

The trouble with the church at Laodicea was in 
the fact that it was much like many of our churches of 
to-day, they had a name to live, but in fact they were 
dead, that is, they had no power for usefulness. Of all 
the failures in the world, I know of none that is more 
marked than a professing Christian who has not 
reached the boiling point in Christian life and experi- 



256 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

ence — he is a sort of a dummy, lie has the form of the 
Christian life, but he has no power, and he has no 
power because he has never reached the boiling point 
in the divine life. Till he does reach that point, he is 
worth, as a Christian, just about as much as a tank 
full of hot water is for running an engine, and we all 
know that such an instrument has no power at all. 

Now 1 think it is clear why Jesus wished the 
members of the Laodicean church were cold or boiling. 
If they were cold, that would class them with the 
world, where they could make no claim to the divine 
life; or, if they were boiling, that would put them 
where they could be a power for good in the spread 
of the gospel and therein become soul-winners. 

It is useless Tor the preacher to scold and fret 
because his members will not get to real work for 
Christ. The thing to do is to build a gospel fire about 
them, till they reach the boiling point, and then they 
will go to work, pay or no pay, praise or no praise, 
applause or no applause — they will move under the 
impulse of the Spirit, and as they move, the Lord will 
work with them, and great things will come to pass in 
the saving of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord. 



XCIV— CAPT. THOMAS WORSE, OK THE MAN 

FOE WHOM THREE MIRACLES 

WERE WORKED. 

During my pastorate 4 at the Memorial Christian 
Temple, Norfolk, Va., T was called to visit a Oapt. 
Worse. He had been a cripple since he was four years 
old, due to a fall from a gate post, which paralyzed 
him from his waist down, so that he never Avalked 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 257 

another step in all of the remaining fifty-six years of 
his life. Not only was he thus afflicted in his body, but 
in this condition he was left in the world almost- 
friendless. His parents were never able to do much for 
him. Indeed it is almost certain that he never knew 
much of them. 

With no one to care for him, it is not surprising 
that he grew up to be wicked. It is said that some 
kind friend took him to church on one occasion, but 
in some way he got an idea that the church people 
were "making fun" of him because of his affliction. 
He was highly offended and refused to go to church 
again. Without the influence of a Christian home and 
without the church to help him into a right life, it is 
not surprising that he grew up in wickedness, having 
not the fear of God before him. 

Though he could not walk a step, yet he 
had a strong body — a good spine and active arms and 
hands. He did not wish to go to the alms house, and 
yet he must do that, or he must make a living for him- 
self. There were not many things he could do for a 
living, by reason of the fact that he could not walk at 
all. He could not even use crutches since his helpless 
lower limbs would be in the way. His hard lot in life 
and the disposition of the church people (as he 
thought) to laugh at his affliction, had embittered him 
till he had not much love for any one. 

At length he met Capt. C. M. Cruser, a business 
man of the community, who took an interest in the 
welfare of the cripple. Mr. Cruser employed him as 
a cook on one of his oyster boats, giving him ten dollars 
and board a month. This gave him a start. The first 
year he saved $110. To a young man of the twentieth 








H A 








The Last Restingr-place of the Body of Capt. Thomas Worse in 
Elmwood Cemetery, Norfolk, Va. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 259 

century such a saving from so small a salary would be 
wonderful. Mr. Cruser undertook to teach him to 
read, but lie failed utterly. He was either unable 
or unwilling to learn. As he gained Mr. Cruser's confi- 
dence, lie was ottered work on one of the oyster boats. 
This gave him a yet better chance to make good wages. 
He could sit in the boat and "tong" oysters, as the 
strength of his lower limbs was not necessary in that 
work. At last he had found a life-time occupation, 
for he spent the rest of his days in the oyster business, 
and he made money, not a fortune, of course, but much 
more than he used up w T hile living. Finally Capt. 
Cruser gave him some "oyster grounds" and he w T ent 
into business for himself. The business suited him and 
he prospered. By reason of his inability to w r alk, he 
was greatly hindered in getting from his boat to his 
room at night. Finally he conceived the idea of a 
houseboat. He had it built and anchored it near the 
shore. Turn to the top of the picture, and just above 
the w r ords, "His' Home," you can trace the outline of 
that house, the post to which it was anchored, and the 
waves of the w^ater on which it floated. The outline in 
the picture was cut in his tombstone, from which the 
picture w r as taken. He lived in that house for years 
and it w T as a happy home to him. 

There were three very remarkable events in his 
life. One was his conversion. It seemed as if God 
reached his heart in some mysterious w r ay. So far as 
w r e are informed, no human instrument was used. 
Without going to church and without the regular 
preaching of the gospel, God saved him. There w^as 
no occasion to doubt his conversion. It meant to him 
a radical change of life. From a miserable sinner he 



260 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

was converted into a happy Christian. Soon after his 
conversion he astonished Capt. Cruser by requesting 
him to purchase for him a Bible. Mr. Cruser was very 
willing to do so, but he did not see what he wanted 
with it, as he could not read at all — did not even know 
his letters. 

Here we come to the second very remarkable event 
in his life. You might call it a miracle and be not far 
out of the way. The Bible was purchased. Soon Mr. 
Cruser noticed him with the Bible open before him, as 
if reading. Knowing he could not read, turning to 
him, he said, "What are you doing?" "I am reading 
my Bible," said Capt. Worse. "But," said Capt. 
Cruser, "how did you learn to read?" The crippled 
man, looking up into the face of his friend, said : "The 
Lord taught me how to read it." Capt. Cruser knew 
that he had failed to teach him how to read, and so 
he was not a little surprised at this wonderful process 
of learning to read. It is said by those who knew him 
well that he could never read much of anything but 
the Bible, but he was conversant with its contents in 
a very large measure. He knew his Bible as few men 
in the ordinary walks of life know it. 

He was a very conscientious Christian. Of course, 
to be a true Christian he must be conscientious, for 
there is no other way. Though he lived alone and had 
not many of life's comforts, as we ordinarily regard 
comforts, yet he would not cook for himself, or any one 
else, on Sunday. He thought a Christian ought to 
deny himself enough to enable him to be obedient. 
How true! If a person cannot get along one day in 
the week, eating cold food for the sake of obeying God, 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 261 

what is his religion worth? I commend his example 
to all Christians. 

It was my privilege to visit him in his boat home. 
He came ashore with his row boat and took me to "the 
little anchored palace/' and there I had a most delight- 
ful visit with him. It was a privilege to talk with him 
of Christian experience and of some of the richer 
teachings of God's Word. His conversion and the way 
he learned to read the Bible in his isolated life are 
without a parallel in my reading and observation of 
more than forty years in the ministry. 

However, there is yet a third very strange event 
in his life. He did not tell me of it himself, but I 
learned it through one of his neighbors. His boat was 
anchored in salt water, and of course he could not 
drink that. As he could not walk a step, he could not 
go ashore to get water. He had a near neighbor who 
very kindly brought him drinking water, but the time 
came when that neighbor moved away, and then 
drinking water, and how to get it, became a very serious 
matter. He made it a subject of prayer, asking the 
Lord to show him how his needs could be supplied. 
After praying he felt moved to get into his boat and go 
along near the shore, hoping that he might find a 
spring near enough to the water's edge for him to 
reach it with an ordinary dipper, but he was doomed to 
disappointment. As he continued his search along the 
shore, he came to an oak tree. He was moved with 
an impulse to dig under that tree in hope of striking 
a vein of water. Soon after he began to dig, the water 
began to run, and there he found a supply of good 
fresh water as long as he lived. His neighbor vouched 
for the truth of this fact. It is not strange that God 



262 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LIXE 

will do for His needy and trusting children. The Lord 

knowetk how to provide for them that trust in Him. 

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is 
stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." — Is. 26:3. 

Capt. Worse, though a cripple and living an 
isolated life, was a man of energy. He made money, far 
more than was necessary for his own simple needs, so 
that when he died he left what he had accumulated to 
his life-long friend, Capt. Cruser, with instruction to 
use it for doing good, especially in helping the needy 
poor of his native county. He was a man of iron nerve. 
It is said by those who knew him well, that many a 
time he crawled, dragging his helpless limbs after him, 
from Tanner's (/reek to Norfolk— a distance of three 
miles. Think of it! He must attend to business, 
though to do so he must crawl three miles. 

After his conversion he wished to be baptized. 
They put him in a chair and carried him down into 
the water and he was baptized in the name of the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and then arose 
to manifest to the world newness of life in Christ. 
Capt. Cruser, in speaking of him, says: "I know he 
was a Christian — he tried to follow Christ." 

, When he was sixty years of age pneumonia seized 
him and took him away in a few days, but not till, as 
it seems to me and others who knew him, he had under 
grace, brought his life to its best and had gained the 
assurance that there was laid up for him a crown which 
the Lord would give him in the day of final accounts. 
Though Capt. Worse lived in a very limited circle, an 
isolated life in fact, yet his influence and usefulness 
have been far-reaching and are still a blessing to many. 

It fell to my lot to conduct the funeral services 
over his remains. He was buried from the Memorial 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 2G3 

Christian Temple. The texl I used was the mosl 
appropriate and withal very striking. It was 2 Sam. 
9:13 — * k He did eat continually at the king's table, 
and he was lame in both of his feet." I do not now 
recall ever having had more satisfaction in speaking on 
any funeral occasion. His life had been so transparent, 
so true to his Lord, that it seemed easy to tell of his 
life and death. His life, under grace, was such a 
guarantee of blessedness with his Lord in the many 
mansions, there was no occasion to be bowed down. 
He had simply fought a great battle, gained a glorious 
victory, and now he had gone home to receive his 
reward. How beautiful is the life and the death of 
the righteous! No wonder Balaam said: "Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like 
his." 

"An humble life, a peaceful end, 
And Heaven to crown it all." 



XCV— A VERY TRYING EXPERIENCE. 

After a service of more than eight years, I had 
become devotedly attached to the w^ork at Norfolk, Va. 
The Lord had w r orked w r ith us and greatly prospered 
our efforts. I had come to love that people until they 
seemed to be almost a part of my life. I had no inten- 
tion of leaving them, as pastor. It was in the latter 
part of the winter, or in the early spring, of the year 
1903, that I saw announced in The Herald of Gospel 
Liberty, that Rev. James McAllister had resigned the 
pastoral care of the Christian church at Covington, 
Ohio. As I read it, it seemed almost as if a voice said 
to me, "You will be called to succeed him!" But I 



264 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

did not wish a call — I was delighted with the work I 
had. In a few days the impression passed off, and 
I had almost forgotten the strange messenger which 
had seemed to speak to me. One day, perhaps two 
months later, I received a letter in a strange hand- 
writing — I saw the postmark of Covington, Ohio, on 
the envelope. I was afraid to open it. I half suspected 
it was a fulfillment of the prophetic voice which had 
spoken to me several weeks ago. I hesitated to open 
it, but of course, there was nothing else to do, and so 
I proceeded with my task. It was as I had feared. 
The church at Covington, writing me through its clerk, 
wished to know if I would consider a call to be its 
pastor. 

I considered the matter for a few days, but the 
more I considered it, the more I shrank from the 
thought of leaving Norfolk. At length I felt I must 
answer in some way. So I wrote saying that I had 
no desire or intention to leave Norfolk, but if they 
felt moved to call me, and should do so, I would give 
the matter earnest consideration, but clearly empha- 
sized the fact that I had no intention of leaving the 
Memorial Christian Temple. I felt somewhat relieved, 
for I did not think w T ith such an outlook they would 
extend the call. A few weeks passed and to my chagrin 
another letter came with the same postmark and 
handwriting. Again I was afraid to open it, for 1 
felt it was most likely a call, and I did not wish to 
go. The letter brought the call, and a puzzling call 
it was. 

Just about that time I was suffering from a 
breakdown from my work, and the church I was 
serving urged me to go away for a rest. I yielded and 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WA1 265 

went to spend several weeks at Buffalo Lithia Springs 
in Mecklenburg Co., Va. In a few days after reaching 
the springs I received another letter, urging me to 
decide and give the church an answer as to whether I 
would accept the call or not. I had nothing else to 
do, but to pray and wait for an answer. While I did 
not wish to go, and to be truthful, I did not mean to 
go, if I could help it, yet I could not lay the matter 
aside entirely. With the second letter urging a 
decision, I took the matter up in earnest. As the days 
drifted along I found myself strangely yielding to the 
thought that I ought to go. I was distressed and 
burdened, but there was a growing disposition to yield. 
I was seeking light as to the line of duty. Under the 
impulse to go, I arose from the chair in which I was 
sitting and went to the table for my Bible. I opened 
it at random, and found my eyes resting on 1 Kings 
17 : 28, the part of the verse which impressed me reads : 

"With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilder- 
ness?" 

At once I felt rebuked for having yielded at all to 
the thought that I would leave the Memorial Christian 
Temple to go to Covington, Ohio. It seemed to me as 
a pointed rebuke for any thought of leaving, and at 
once I said: "I will not go!" Then I thought the 
matter was settled, but almost immediately every im- 
pulse seemed to urge me to go, and every circumstance 
seemed to point me to Covington, Ohio. I felt I must 
not take such a step without notifying the Norfolk 
church. At length I yielded. Then I went to Norfolk 
and on the tenth day of August, 1903, the thirtieth 
anniversary of my entrance upon the work of the 
ministry, I announced to the church my purpose to 



2(30 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

accept the call to Ohio. I could not restrain the tears. 
During the morning services some of my near friends 
detected the fact that my emotions were stirred in an 
unusual degree — they did not know why. I offered my 
resignation in tears. I did not wish to go away. I 
had not meant to go, but in spite of my wishes I had 
been impelled and the decision was made. 

Surely I was led in a strange way — a way that 1 
knew not, but I do not doubt the leading was of the 
Lord. To give up the ties of a lifetime of fifty years 
was a sacrifice on the human side that I had not 
contemplated — but now as I look back and recall the 
thorny road oyer which I have come, but remembering 
that every thorn has its rose, and realizing that with 
the thorns I have found many roses along the way, I 
am constrained to give praise unto the Hand that has 
led me. His ways are always right. 

Let us sing, and then live the song — 

"Where He leads me I will follow — 
1 will go with Him all the way." 



XCVI— "AS THE VOICE OF MANY WATERS." 

In the latter part of the winter of 190G I was sent 
as a representative of the Mission Board of the Chris- 
tian Church to the Student Volunteer Convention, 
meeting that year at Nashville, Tenn. It was one of 
few opportunities that come to us in a lifetime, for it 
was a great meeting in every sense of the word. There 
were many distinguished men and women from many 
parts of the world in attendance. Missionary enthusi- 
asm rose to the "high-water mark." The day before 
the Convention met the Mission Boards of the United 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 207 

Slates held a meeting. There also I met and heard 
many of the great men of the Church. There, too, 
missionary enthusiasm Avas running high. 

I remember a rather amusing incident that 
occurred in this meeting. A distinguished states- 
man was present, and as he had recently been 
in the East, he was called on to address the mem- 
bers of the Mission Boards. He was better 
acquainted with matters of State than he was 
with the nomenclature of the Church. He made some 
reference to the Prayer Book and spoke of it as belong- 
ing to the Presbyterians. There was a good-natured 
outburst of laughter at his expense, but I think he never 
caught on to the cause of the laughter. He afterwards 
filled a cabinet position at Washington and was 
regarded as an able and upright man. 

Returning to the Student Volunteer Convention, 
I may mention some things which then most impressed 
me. John R. Mott w^as president and he filled the 
place with great ability. It was worth more to hear 
him announce the hymn : "The Son of God goes forth to 
war" than to hear some men speak for thirty minutes. 
Another man who made a great impression on the 
Convention w T as Rev. Geo. Robson of Edinburgh, Scot- 
land. His address made a profound impression. He 
spoke on "The Supreme Business of the Church to 
Make Christ Known to All Mankind." That thought 
is a great speech in itself. Dr. Robert E. Speer 
delivered a great address on "The Fulness of the 
Living Presence of Christ." Again he spoke on "The 
Non-Christian Religions Inadequate to Meet the Needs 
of Men." 



268 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

The closing service was great. In it was given an 
opportunity for the young people to offer themselves 
for the foreign mission field. A great number offered 
themselves. Each one was asked to give in a sentence 
his or her reason for wishing to go to the foreign field. 
Such work as was done in this hour will not be seen 
many times on earth. It seemed that each one had 
fully weighed the matter ,and was able to give what 
seemed to be a good reason for the desire to go to 
foreign lands to labor for Christ. Not in a single 
instance was a selfish reason given — each one seemed 
moved as by a great and noble impulse. Language 
fails me and I am not able to give an adequate concep- 
tion of the power of that service, except to say that 
in many respects it surpassed anything I had ever seen 
in the way of religious zeal and consecration. 

There was a great concourse of people in attend- 
ance. Before each service began, while the people 
were assembling, every one seemed to be talking. 
Never before had I heard such sounds from human 
voices as came from this commingling of speech. You 
have heard of the "rippling waters." Well, these 
thousands of voices combined into a strange music, 
and there was real beauty in it. It was indeed as the 
rippling of many waters. It lacked the harshness of 
the mighty roar of the sea — it seemed rather to have the 
mighty sweep of many waters rippling gently over an 
uneven surface, and, singular as it may seem, the 
rhythm was delightful. Never before had I any con- 
ception of what John meant when he said, "and his 
voice (was) as the sound of many waters." That 
expresses the thought exactly — as the sound of many 
waters. I think I shall never forget the impression 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 269 

made upon my mind as to the likeness a multitude of 
voices have to the rippling flow of many waters. The 
influence of the Nashville Convention still lives. 



XOVII— I HAVE LONG BEEN ASKING, WHY? 

As far back as my memory goes, I have found 
opposition in every pastoral charge I have held. In 
some it was much worse than others, but opposition in 
some degree and in some form seems to have been my 
portion. If it was not based on one thing, it was sure to 
be on another. In one place I found opposition because 
of the way I parted my hair ; in another, because I had 
too much to say against whiskey ; in another, because I 
spoke so plainly against the dance; in another, 
because I wanted people to be too good; in another, 
because I tried to get the people to be missionary; in 
another, because I wanted to send too much money 
away from home for the spread of the gospel ; in another, 
because I insisted that Christian men and women 
should read their Bibles more than any other literature ; 
in another, no particular reason, but just opposed to 
me; in still another because I was not "attractive" 
enough. After seeing that everywhere I have gone, I 
have found opposition, I have been asking myself the 
question : "Why is it so — why must I meet opposition 
in every place I go with the precious message of salva- 
tion for the people?" At times I have fairly longed 
to get the opportunity to preach to one church in which 
I might find no opposition to the message, but so far 
it is not in sight. The saddest thought in all of this 
opposition is, not that I am hurt by it, although I may 
have been, but it is the fact that the opposition is set 



270 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

against the honor of my Lord and against the pros- 
perity of His Church. It means that men and women 
who are opposing the preacher's message are getting 
very little help from the gospel, for they are hindering 
not only others, but themselves as well. I knew a 
young man once who was so much opposed to his pas- 
tor's work that he got all out of humor till he went to 
kicking, and he said himself that he had well nigh 
kicked himself out of all the Christian experiences he 
had ever had. I think that may be true of many 
others. In their opposition they kick out, not only 
others, but themselves as well, and that is one of the 
saddest things in the opposition that so often comes 
to the pastor. 

Why may we not learn to overlook in the pastor 
the things that we do not like, and take and use the 
best we can, the tilings that are wise and good in his 
general make-up and work? In opposing a pastor, who 
is worthy the name, we are simply hindering the cause 
and destroying our own spiritual vitality. It is a pity! 
Let us quit the foolish thing! 

Have you forgotten the Word of God as it bears on 
this matter of opposing the pastor? Turn to 2 Chron. 
L6:22— 

"Touch not mine anointed, <tn<! do my prophets no harm." 



XCVIII— CORRECTING THE PASTOR. 

Sometimes learning is costly, but it pays to learn. 
I read the other day of a pastor who was opposed to 
having children join the church. Some of his members 
were distressed at the thought that their pastor was 
standing in the way of the salvation of the children. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 



271 



and that, too, while he seemed to think he was doing 
(rod's will. The situation was indeed serious and from 
many standpoints. Bui what could be done? How 
could the members teach the pastor? 

At length one of the members fell upon a plan 
and it worked like a charm. He invited the pastor to tea 
with him and his family. The good pastor went and was 
pleased to go, not knowing what was to come to him 
in that visit. After tea he asked the pastor to walk 
out with him to see his large flock of sheep as he put 




The Shepherd and the Lamb 

them into the fold for the night. This invitation was 
also gladly accepted. Arriving at the fold, he began 
to admit the old sheep to the protecting care of the fold, 
but he kept every lamb out. 

This displeased the pastor, and he at once remon- 
strated with his member for thus treating the lambs, 
for they surely needed more protection than the older 
sheep, meantime the owner of the lambs was keeping 
them all out. At last the pastor spoke out more plainly, 
saying : 

"What are you doing — the lambs need protection more 
than the sheep !" 



272 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

Then the man spoke out plainly and said to the 
pastor : 

"I am doing just what you are doing with the children of 
the church." 

It is said that never again was that pastor heard 
to say one word against taking children into the church 
He had learned his lesson, and learned it so well that 
he could not forget. 

That was a wise layman — he knew how to work 
most efficiently for good! It takes grace to enable a 
man to work so wisely. 



XOIX— WHAT KIND OF A CHRISTIAN AM I? 

Please give an honest answer to that question — 
answer it to, and for, yourself. Your future happiness 
and usefulness depend upon what kind of a Christian 
you are. There is a great variety of apples, so there 
is a great variety of Christians. Some are of one kind, 
some of another. The question is to which class do T 
belong? Some of these classes are: 

1. The Dabbling Christian. The mother's hard- 
est task is to keep her boy clean. She may dress him 
again and again each day, but as often as she dresses 
him, just that often lie will go and play in the dirt, or 
in a mud puddle. He must dabble in the dirt. The 
result is a dirty boy. The dabbling Christian is much 
like that boy — he just must dabble in sin. When I 

was pastor at , I had a man in that church of 

that stripe. He was regular to church and often in 
the prayer-meeting, but he would go to the theater.' He 
might be at service on Sunday night, but Monday 
night he was just as apt to be at the theater. He might 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 273 

be at the prayer-meeting on Wednesday night, bnt that 
was no assurance that he would not be at the theater 
on Thursday night. He was clever, but he never had 
the stamina of the true and whole-hearted Christian, 
and all because he must now and then "dabble in sin." 
You cannot live a holy life and at the same time 
"dabble in sin." If all Christians were only 0. and 0., 
that is, Out and Out for Christ! Are you? 
Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

2. The Sunday-Tired Christian. So many people 
are tired out when Sunday comes — "so tired I just 
cannot go to church to-day !" I knew a lady who 
through the week could get up at five o'clock in the 
morning and walk quite a distance to a tennis court 
and play tennis, and then walk back home and do the 
necessary work through the day, and no special com- 
plaint, but when Sunday morning came, she was just 
so cired she could not get up even at eight o'clock to 
go to church. 

Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

3. The Can/t-TaJce-the-Baby Christian. A mother 
said she would like to go to church, but she could not 
take the baby, and as she had no one with whom to 
leave the baby in the home she could not go. Pretty 
good excuse. It looks all right at first sight. 
But soon the circus came along. It was a hot 
July day, but would you believe it, that mother 
took her baby and went "to see the parade," and stood 
on the street in the burning sun for an hour. She 
could not go to church to worship God, where they 
had comfortable seats and a cool room, but she could 
stand on the street with baby in her arms, for an 
hour to see the parade ! 

Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 



274 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



4. The Too Hot Christian. There was a man in 
the congregation, a big stout fellow, but he said it was 
too hot to go to church on Sunday morning — the heat 
was too great for him, although they had a cool room 
and good seats — but he just could not stand the heat. 
After dinner on Sunday he was quite busy, dressing. 
His wife said: "John, where are you going?" "Oh, I 
am going for a walk, to try to get cool." He went 
straight to the baseball park, and stood there in a hot 

sun for one hour, looking 
on a ball game. He could 
stand in the hot sun for 
sixty minutes to see a game 
of baseball, and on Sunday 
at that, but he could not 
spend one hour in the house 
of God, in a cool room and 
in comfortable seats, to 
join in the worship of Al- 
mighty God ! 

Oli. the hypocrisy of 
our excuses! 

5. The Gnawing Bone 
christian. T have seen a 
hungry dog gnawing an old meatless bone, and he 
would not leave it for good food. I would make no 
odious comparison, but I have seen just that kind of 
a Christian. Gossip had thrown an old bone out, and 
forthwith that seemed to become the most toothsome 
thing within reach. I had in my pastoral charge once 
a woman, a fine woman, very regular to church service, 
a member of the choir, a teacher in the Sunday-school, 
but one day she refused to go into the choir and she 
wanted to give up her Sunday-school class. She seemed 




The Dog That "Gnaw* a Dry 
Bone" Gets \o Meat 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 275 

to be sulking. I knew something had gone wrong. [ 
sought to ascertain what the trouble was, and what do 
you think was the cause of it all? Oh, a gossip had 
said something about her, and forthwith she must quit 
the Lord's work and go to "gnawing that old bone," 
although it had no meat on it, and could not possibly 
be of any help to her, but rather a hindrance ! But she 
stuck to the old dry bone. 

Ohy the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

6. The Kicking Christian. He is dangerous. He 
kicks about everything which does not suit him, and 
if you push him, he may kick even that which he does 
like, rather than to miss kicking something. I knew a 
young man once who differed from the teachings of 
his pastor along some important lines. He decided to 
go on a kicking spree, and he did, and afterwards he 
said he kicked himself out of all the Christian experi- 
ence he had ever had. That is what kicking is good 
for — it never helps to build up the Lord's work. As a 
pastor, I dread a kicker in the church — he can knock 
things to pieces faster than three pastors can get them 
together. 

Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

7. The Rocking-Chair Christian. And what 
sort of Christian is that? Oh, it is the ease-loving one. 
One of the old prophets tells us of the people who were 
at ease in Zion — they liked to be counted in Zion, but 
they did not wish to disturb their ease. They w r ere tired 
— Oh, so tired, born tired, and wished to go to Heaven 
on flowery beds of ease. They could work hard at 
other things, but when it came to the Lord's service, 
they were in for an easy time, and they must have it 
or they would get out of the church. 

Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 



276 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

8. The Stingy Christian. Ah, can there be such 
a thing as a stingy Christian? Let me change the 
phrase to a stingy church member. Yes, we have a 
good many of that kind, and the more we have the 
more's the pity — they do so much harm ! We find this 
class of church members, spending liberally for their 
own gratification, but very stingy toward the church 
and the Lord's work. Stingy toward our best Friend ! 

Oh, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

9. The Tattling Christian. Oh, there are so 
many of them ! But can a person who tells tales to 
make a fuss be a Christian? We beg your pardon. We 
should have written it a tattling church member. How 
they love to talk! How they do seek to make mischief 
and so help the devil along in his terrible work. 

07*-, the hypocrisy of our excuses! 

10. The Tine Christian. Ah, that is the man or 
the woman we need. And who is the true Christian? 
Oh, he is the man or the woman who, taking Christ as 
a pattern, devoutly and earnestly seeks to live like 
Christ. 

Oh, how blessed arc tJtc realities of such a life! 
God help us to live — live it truly to His praise and 
glory. 



C— A STRANGE SAYING. 

We accept many a strange saying from the lips 
of man, as true, but when it comes to the unusual from 
the mouth of God through His chosen instruments, 
then we falter and declare we do not understand it, and 
because Ave do not understand it, we make bold to 
declare that we will not accept it as truth. Why this 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 277 

difference between one thing we cannot understand and 
another thing we cannot understand? 

We once read of a bright young fellow, a graduate 
of some college, if we remember correctly, who declared 
that he would not believe anything which he could not 
understand. An old, but devout Dutchman, hearing 
the remark, accosted the young man, saying : "And you 
will not believe anything you cannot understand?" 
The young man said he would not. Then said the old 
Dutchman, "Can you tell me how it is that the same 
kind of grass, eaten by a cow r makes hair, by a sheep, 
makes wool, and by a goose, makes feathers? He had 
to admit that he could not. Then came the old Dutch- 
man's opportunity, and he said : "But do you not 
believe it?" There was nothing else to be said, and the 
young man departed, not having quite such an exalted 
opinion of himself. 

In 1 John 1 : 7, we have a passage of Scripture over 
which a good many people stumble. It reads: 

"But if ye walk in the light, as he is in the light, tee have 
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His 
Son cleanseth us from all sin.'" 

People cannot understand that. They think, 
apparently, that no matter how efficacious the blood of 
Christ is, that some sin would be left, but the Word 
says this blood cleanses us from all sin. Is it true, or 
is it false? We believe it is true, and yet, over and 
over, people are saying, "I cannot understand it." 

Xow let us see what the facts are. The oculist 
tells us that when God created us, He made the eye 
the most delicate of all the members of the body, that 
in order to make it do service, as designed, He saw it 
must be kept in good order, clean, and active. But 
since the eye faces all sorts of things, driven by the 



278 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

wind, it was liable to receive dust and other foreign 
matter, which would make the eye useless. Then to 
relieve this danger, the Lord placed a little fountain in 
the head, and running a tear duct from that fountain 
to the eye, He let just enough of a divinely prepared 
fluid pass to the eye to keep it washed out all the time. 
We know that this, or something akin to it, was done, 
because the eye is kept clean in this way. Then, too, 
there are instances on record where this tear duct was 
clogged so that no liquid could pass, and the result 
was that immediately the eye was in a pitiable condi- 
tion indeed. Opening the tear duct, at once the 
difficulty was removed and the eye was again in service. 

These facts must be admitted, because they have 
been demonstrated over and over, and we know the 
truth thus affirmed, and yet there are men who say 
they do not believe that the blood of Jesus Christ keeps 
us from all sin, just as if through the atoning work of 
Jesus, God could not open a fountain and from it 
supply the cleansing power for the soul that trusts Him 
for salvation. If He could arrange and plan for the 
tear duct to keep the eye cleansed all the time, why 
may He not keep the soul cleansed from sin all the 
while by His own divine power? One is as easy as the 
other, and just as reasonable. 

•7// that dai/ there shall he a fountain opened to the house 
of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for 
uncleanness." — Zech. 18: 1. 

Do you believe it? Surely — 

''There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Immanuel's veins ; 
And sinners plunged beneath that flood 
Lose all their guilty stains." 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 279 

CI— WHY JEFFERSON WAS CALLED AN 
INFIDEL. 

That Thomas Jefferson was said to have been an 
infidel is a well-known fact, but just why he was called 
an infidel may not be so well known. 

When James O'Kelly turned against the Methodist 
Church his enemies began to say that O'Kelly was an 
infidel, meaning of course that he was unfaithful to the 
Methodist Church. It so happened that Jefferson and 




Thomas Jefferson 



Deacon Thomas A. Worley 



O'Kelly were schoolmates. While the former was 
prominent in the National Government, the latter 
visited Jefferson in Washington. Knowing O'Kelly 
was a gifted preacher, Jefferson asked him to preach 
while there. Having the preacher's consent, he 
arranged to have the use of the House of Representa- 
tives for that purpose, but O'Kelly did not sustain his 
reputation as a preacher. Mr. Jefferson feeling sure 
of his ability, insisted on another effort. At length 
O'Kelly agreed, and a second appointment was made, 



280 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

when O'Kelly fairly excelled himself, preaching one of 
the greatest sermons of that day. Jefferson was over- 
joyed, and standing before the great audience to which 
O'Kelly had preached, w T ith tears filling his eyes he 
pronounced O'Kelly one of the greatest preachers 
living. 

His kind attention and high appreciation of 
O'Kelly brought much attention to his friendship for 
O'Kelly, and this of itself set Mr. O'Kelly's enemies to 
talking, and since the great statesman stood so firmly 
by Mr. O'Kelly, whom they called infidel, why they 
began to say that Mr. Jefferson was also an infidel. It 
was enough. His political enemies caught it up, and 
in the hope of defeating Jefferson for the Presidency, 
they spread the report far and near that Thomas 
Jefferson was an infidel. The fact was so magnified 
that multitudes of the common people were terror- 
stricken at the thought of having an infidel for Presi- 
dent. It was even told that if Mr. Jefferson should be 
elected President, he would burn every Bible he could 
lay his hands on. 

In Pennsylvania the report had been believed, and 
when it was announced that Jefferson had been elected 
President, a Mrs. Diltz, an elderly lady, was seen with 
her Bible under her apron, going out to hide it, declar- 
ing that that infidel President should never burn her 
Bible— no! no!! 

This incident was given to me by the late Deacon 
Thos. A. Worley of the Covington, Ohio, Christian 
church, and he said that a Mr. Diltz, a great-grandson 
of the old lady in question told him personally of the 
incident, and Deacon Worley believed it was true. 

Behold how great a fire a little matter can kindle 
when under the force of prejudice. The great preacher 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 281 

had no thought of giving the statesman so much trouble 
and such a close chance Tor the Presidency. Perhaps he 
never knew of the injury he did to Mr. Jefferson, 
unwittingly to be sure, in making him a visit in Wash- 
ington. Certinly Mr. O'Kelly was not an infidel, and 
many excellent people think Thomas Jefferson was no 
infidel in any sense of the word. At any rate he was 
never known to go through the country as President 
burning Bibles. 



CII— HOW TWO RUNAWAY BOYS WERE SENT 
BACK HOME. 

During the time of my pastorate in Covington, 
Ohio, a land agent from some place in Texas came to 
that community and sought to induce people to sell 
out their possessions and move to Texas. Of course 
he wanted to sell land. Several went from time to 
time. At length he prevailed upon two boys to go. 
They ran away from their parents and started for 
Texas. Of course, they knew they were doing wrong 
to go without the consent of their parents, but they 
went on. They w r ere not gone a great while till it was 
rumored throughout the community that they had 
returned. Soon afterward, I met one of the boys and 
got to talk w r ith him as to his trip, and in that conver- 
sation he told me of a very remarkable circumstance 
which took place on the out-going journey, and doubt- 
less had much to do with the early return of both of 
the boys. 

Russell said on his way out, while at some place, 
in Oklahoma, I think it w^as, they had to wait over in 
a small town. It was Sunday and the boys decided to 



282 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

go to church, and they did. Greatly to their surprise 
the minister who preached told a story of two boys 
who had run away from their parents, and told it so 
that it seemed to them that he knew of their presence 
and was talking to them. At the close of the service, 
they left, much impressed and perplexed to know how 
that minister knew anything of them. They took the 
first train out and continued their journey. By evening 
they had reached another little city, where again they 
had to wait off for a few hours. They determined to 
go to church again, and they did, when behold the 
minister told practically the same story of two boys 
who had run away from home. The first instance had 
non-plussed them not a little, but the second case over- 
whelmed them, and they were miserable. Most likely 
never- were two boys more anxious to get back home 
than were these, and they came back and were glad to 
do so. It taught them a lesson, both in obedience and 
in love for home. Those art' two lessons every boy and 
girl needs to learn, and when they will not do so other- 
wise, some such experience as these boys had may be 
given them. Do you ask how I explain the strange 
coincidence of the two ministers, far apart, telling the 
same story? I think some one was praying for those 
boys and the Lord used these two ministers to make 
them long for home and their loved ones. Parents, 
learn one thing: God can reach your child. He has a 
thousand ways in which to do it, of which you know 
nothing. Having faithfully done your best to teach 
and train your child, then commit him or her to the 
Lord and trust, not yourself, but your Lord. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 283 

CIII— A STINGING QUESTION AND THE 
ANSWER. 

In the year 1905, if my memory is correct, I was 
in new England for a few days, attending the camp- 
meeting at Craigville, Mass. In the hotel were 
assembled a number of Christian people, detained, as I 
now recollect it, by rain. A sort of an impromptu 
meeting in the interest of missions was held. In the 
discussion some one introduced the tithing idea. It 
struck fire quickly, and in a few minutes the discussion 
was lively. A number of ministers took part in the 
discussion, some of whom were loud against tithing. 
This proved to be too much for one sister present, and 
she took it up and stood for the biblical idea of the 
tithing system. Much spirit was in the discussion, and 
none were more brave than the good sister. As I now 
recall the incident, the discussion narrowed down till 
it was chiefly between the said minister and the lady. 
No one had gone to her help, and as I knew in heart 
I was with her in her view of the question, I could not 
keep silence, and so I spoke out plainly for her view. 
This seemed to add fuel to the fire and the discussioa 
went on. At length the minister said that he tithed, 
but intimated that he had not found any special bless- 
ing in so doing. Then the lady turned on him, quoting 
Deut. 14 : 22— 

"Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that 
the field bringeth forth." 

Then the lady, looking the minister in the face 
squarely, said: "Do you truly tithe? Truly, now do 
you truly tithe?" Her question was a center shot in 
the right place, for as she pressed the question and all 
the while looking the preacher full in the face, he 



284 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

wilted, and frankly said : "No, I do not !" and the 

victory for the Word of God was again complete and 

the truth came off with flying colors, all because one 

woman dared to stand for the truth. The truth was 

written, not with pen and ink, but in letters which 

burned with truth : 

"Ye shall truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the 
field brmgeth forth." 



CIV— A SCENE OVER WHICH AXGELS MIGHT 

REJOICE. 

During my pastorate at Covington, Ohio, I re- 
ceived a special invitation to attend and take part in 
the Craigville Camp-meeting in Massachusetts. I 
accepted and met the engagement. I think it was in 
August, 11)05. It was an interesting occasion, and 
while the crowds were not large, they were very atten- 
tive. Most of the people in attendance were Christians, 
and among them were quite a number of ministers, two 
of whom were likely to attract attention in any audi- 
ence by reason of their advanced ages. Both of them 
were nearing the ninetieth milestone, and yet they 
were reasonably active. Their heads Avere quite white 
with the snows of many winters, their forms somewhat 
decrepit, their voices feeble, their gait a bit unsteady, 
but their hearts were still warm and their faith in God 
still strong. 

One day at the noon hour, when the visitors were 
scattered in many directions, I was sitting on the 
veranda of my boarding house, facing a small pine 
forest. As we sat talking, I heard singing a little 
distance away. Looking up, I saw through the pines 
these two aged ministers, standing face to face, with 



EXPERIENCES ALOIS Q 111 // U 1 Y 



285 



both hands clasped (each in the other's), and they 
were singing — 

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word ; 
What more can He say than to you He hath said, 
To you, who for refuge to Jesus have fled?" 

These two aged ministers were Kev. I. H. Coe and 
Rev. J. E. Barry. The scene was beautiful and T 




Rev. I. H. Coe 



Rev. J. E. Barry 



think I shall remember it to my dying day. Alas, they 
have both long since gone to their reward. It was an 
impressive scene to look upon — two aged ministers, 
standing with one foot in the grave, and the other 
lifted for the next step, but both so sure of their 
foundation in Christ that even though facing the sink- 
ing of their latest sun, yet they were in triumph in 
hope of the coming glory. Blessed waiting! 



2S6 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LIXE 

CV— A SMALL STREAM WHICH WIDENED AND 
DEEPENED AS IT FLOWED. 

In the early days of my ministry' I discovered 
what seemed to me to be a great lack of the "stand- 
together'- spirit in the ministry of the Christian Church. 
I also discovered the cause, viz. : Education under 
widely differing influences. One man was educated in 
a Baptist school, another in a Presbyterian college, 
and yet another in a Congregational institution. 
When these men came together to do the Master's 
bidding, each man desired to go in a different direction 
to do his work. The result was most disastrous to 
unity of effort. It seemed clear that we must educate 
our ministers, and our young people, too, together, 
and in that way turn their sympathies, their ways of 
thinking, and their ideas of work in one direction, as 
a condition of moving together in our work. I was so 
impressed with this thought that I felt impelled to 
make an effort to get relief. To do that it was clear 
to my mind that we must have a college of our own, 
under our own management, and imbued with our 
ideas of truth and work. I knew the undertaking 
would be Herculean, not that our people were not 
able to build a college and equip it, but the lack of 
previous training together would quickly divide us as 
to the wisdom of the enterprise. Some would declare 
it was not necessary, others that we were not able, etc., 
but in the face of it all, I determined to agitate the 
matter and so see if something could not be accom- 
plished. 

Being editor of The Christian Sun, the organ of 
the Southern Christian Convention, I had great 
advantage and opportunity "to feel of the pulse" of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY* 



287 



our people in this direction, and T did it. In 1886-88, 
I kept the matter before the people, declaring to them 
the necessity for a college for the training of our 
ministers and our young people, in order to bring best 
results in our work. As I had anticipated, many 

objections were offered, 
and some of them by lead- 
ing men in the Church. 

One of the first men 
to come to my help in this 
agitation was Rev. W. S. 
Long, D. D., and he was 
wonderfully helpful. In 
fact, he really became the 
leader in the work. He 
did much to secure favor- 
able action on the part of 
the conferences and the 
Southern Christian Con- 
vention. In 1888, the Con- 
vention formally under- 
took the work, and at once 
the enterprise rapidly gained favor with the people. In 
1890, the college was opened with a most gratifying 
attendance. Though more than once we were greatly 
embarrassed by the lack of money, yet the work went 
forward in a most encouraging way. Dr. Long became 
the first president, and be it said to his credit, in the 
face of many difficulties, he laid a good foundation for 
a great and growing institution. Then, under the 
presidency of Rev. W. W. Staley, D. D. ? for eleven 
years, there was real progress and a healthy develop- 
ment. Then came Dr. E. L. Moffitt as the third 
president, who for several years led the work splen- 




Rev. W. S. Long 



288 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



didly, beginning the foundation for an endowment. 
Then came Dr. Harper, the youngest of the four 
presidents, who led the work with a strong and steady 
hand, till to-day it stands among the leading colleges 
of the South. During the last session the patronage 
reached its highest mark, nearly four hundred, and 
to-day its outlook is most encouraging. 



Already the- end 
been largely 



gained. 




sought in its establishment has 
The education and religious 
training of our ministers and 
young people together have 
already had a fine effect in 
cementing a common bond of 
sympathy, in bringing them to 
a common purpose in the work 
of the Church. Twenty-five 
years of history already abund- 
antly justify the Convention in 
its undertaking, and with the 
blessings of God resting upon 
it for the future, we have seen 
only the beginning of its great 
career and the mighty influence 
it will exert in the spread of the gospel. 

Many men and women have done nobly in 
standing by the institution, both with moral influence 
and financial help. Among these, few have been 
permitted to do so much for the college as Bro. Willis 
J. Lee, of Virginia. As a member of the Board of 
Trustees he has given his time, influence, and money, 
unstintedly, in its service. To-day the influence of 
Elon College cannot be estimated. It stands now, 
and under the favor of God, it will continue to stand, 
side by side with the other institutions of learning in 



Willis J. Lee 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 289 

the Church, bringing blessed fruitage. There is Union 
Christian College, Merom, Indiana; Defiance College 
and the Christian Biblical Institute, both at Defiance, 
Ohio; Starkey Seminary-Palmer Institute, Lakemont, 
N. Y. ; Palmer College, Albany, Mo.; Jireh College, 
Jireh, Wyoming, and Christian College, Franklinton, 
N. C. (for the colored people of the South). In this 
splendid galaxy we are all delighted to see Elon 
standing, shining as a star of the first magnitude. It 
began as a small stream, but it has Avidened and 
deepened as it has come through the first twenty-five 
years of its existence, and to-day the one thought of 
its progressive president and its many friends is — a 
GREATER ELON. 



CVI— AN IMMEDIATE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 

When I became pastor of the Christian church at 
Covington, Ohio, in October, 1903, among the many most 
excellent people there, I found Mrs. Polly Pearson, an 
aged Christian woman. Even then she rarely got to 
church because of her age and infirmity. She was not 
far from her ninetieth year, and of course, as the days 
were passing by, she became more feeble, till before I 
left there she did not get to church at all. She had 
ample means for her own comfort, except that she 
lived alone. Just before I left the Covington church 
to become the editor of our church paper, I called to 
see her. I found her in her usual health, but not a 
little disturbed. She seemed burdened, and at length 
she said she wished to tell me of a matter she had 
otherwise kept to herself — that no one in the com- 
munity knew of the matter, and she did not care to 



290 



FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 



have it talked about, but she wished to tell me. Then 

she said: 

"I do not see well at any time, and especially at the 
twilight hour. A few evenings ago just after sunset, I was 
alone in my home and heard footsteps approaching the house. 
I thought it was Ephraim (an aged gentleman and a near 

relative) coming around to see 
if I was in need. Soon I heard 
a knock at the side door, and 
still thinking it was my rela- 
tive, I said, 'Come in.' The 
door opened and a stranger 
walked in. a man I had never 
seen before. At least if I had, 
I could not recognize him then. 
Almost the first thing he said 
was : 'I wish to borrow some 
money and I have come to you 
to get it.' 

'/At once I felt I was in 
the hands of a robber and 
alone. So far as human help, 
I was alone and helpless, but 
at once I looked to the Lord 
and in heart cried to Him 
for deliverance. Of course, I 
had to answer him in some 
quickly given me, and the 
I said : 'What little money 
I have is in the Building and Loan, and so I have 
none that I can lend.' For a moment the intruder seemed a 
bit puzzled, as if he knew not how to proceed. This unex- 
pected turn in the situation seemed to baffle him, and without 
making any explanation he left my room, and that was the 
last I saw of him. I never had an idea of who the man was, 
but I felt sure that he came to rob me. In that moment of 
peril I quickly committed myself to the Lord and asked for 
His protection, and as quickly deliverance was given me and 
the would-be robber was sent away from my presence. I 
wanted you to know the facts, but I do not care to have it 
talked about in the community." 

That is the story she related to me, and I have not 
the least doubt but that it was true, but her peril was 
no more real than was her deliverance in answer to 
prayer. I doubt that she ever told another person 
(or at least but very few) of the circumstance after 




Mrs. Polly Pearson 

way. An answer was 
answer was the truth. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 291 

that. Indeed she was protected — she was surrounded 

by the Divine Presence, and no robber could get to 

her to do her harm when the Lord stood between. 

Surely it is true as one of old has said : 

"Before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet 
speaking, I will hear." 

This strong language has often been verified in 
the lives of the Lord's little ones. He anticipates our 
call and starts the answer on ahead. 

Once more 'tis even tide and we, 
Oppress'd with various ills, draw near; 
What if Thy form we cannot see ! 
We know and feel that Thou art here — 

My path is lone, and weary are my feet, 
Come, Great Deliverer, come ! 

Aunt Polly was a plain Christian woman. In her 
young days she lived in the country near Pleasant Hill. 
On one occasion the Miami Christian Conference met 
at Pleasant Hill. The distinguished Dr. N. Summerbell 
was assigned to her home for entertainment. The 
thought of entertaining this great man flustrated her. 
She was sure she had nothing that he (a great man) 
would eat, but she did her best to set the house in good 
order and prepare a big meal. When he came he was 
plain and wished only a bowl of milk and bread. 
Again she was almost flustrated to find he was just 
folks. 



CVII— HOW A LITTLE PLUCK DID THE WORK. 

A construction company was building an ice plant 
in the little town of C, in the State of Ohio. The 
company thought they saw how they could make it 
work much to their advantage if they should have their 



292 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

men work seven days in the week, and so, of course, the 
order was given, and when the next Sunday morning 
came, the men went to work as on other days. That 
was something unusual for C, for though they were 
not a perfect people by any means, it Avas something 
most unusual to have the Sabbath openly desecrated 
by regular manual labor. The scene of men at work 
on the ice plant on Sunday morning created surprise, 
and the news of the act spread rapidly from one part 
of the town to another. Soon Mrs. S. heard that the 
men were at work on the ice plant She said at once: 
"That must not be allowed — Sunday cannot be dese- 
crated here in that way." For a moment she stopped 
to consider what she could do. Then turning to her 
husband she said : 

"Husband, T want you to go down there and tell 
those men that they cannot work in this town on 
Sunday, that they must stop at once." 

"Wife/ 5 replied the husband. "1 have nothing to 
do with it." 

"'Then, husband, you call the Mayor and tell him 
that I say he must go and stop thai work at once." 

"If you wish the Mayor called, you will have to 
call him, for 1 shall not." Then Mrs. S. went to the 
phone and looking up the Mayor's number, she called 
him. The Mayor answered. He heard a feminine 
voice asking: 

"Is this the Mayor?" 

"Yes. What can I do for you?" 

"Did you know, Mr. Mayor, that the men at the ice 
plant are at work to-day?" 

"No, I did not." 

"Well,, they are, and I want you to go and tell 
them they must stop at once !" 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 29.°, 

"] can't do it — that is for the marshal I to look 
after!" 

The lady knew that the marshal] was very slack 
about such matters, so she insisted that the Mayor go 
look after the matter himself, but he would not. Again 
she stopped to think what she could do. In her desper- 
ation to find a man with a back-bone, she recalled 
the fact that Mr. R., a member of the Board of Alder- 
men, was a strict observer of the Sabbath, and so she 
turned from the Mayor to Mr. R., and ringing his 
phone, the answer came at once. Mrs. S. spoke at once, 
asking : . 

"Is this Mr. R.?" 

"It is." 

"Well, Mr. R., do you know that the men are at 
work this Sunday morning on the ice plant?" 

"I do not, Madam." 

"Well, sir, it is a fact — they are working to-day 
just as they did yesterday, and I want it stopped and 
quickly, and I wnsh you to go and have it stopped 
without delay." 

"I will do it — I will get into my buggy at once, 
and go by and get the Mayor and we will go down and 
put a stop to that work at once." 

Mr. R. was as good as his word — he went by and 
took the Mayor with him and in a short time the men 
looked up, surprised to see the Mayor and a member 
of the council coming. They drove up to the place 
where the work was in progress, and under the stim- 
ulus of Mr. R., the Mayor said : 

"You must stop this Sunday work at once — we 
will not have it at all !" 

Of course the orders of the chief authority in the 
town had to be obeyed. There was nothing else to do 



294 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

but to quit, and quit they did. They reported to the 
construction company the orders they had received from 
the Mayor. Quickly came the answer: 

"If the people of C. are good enough to object to 
work being done in their midst on Sunday, then do 
not do it!" 

And Sunday work speedily came to an end, but 
it was all done by the pluck of one little woman who 
was not afraid to talk to the Mayor and the council- 
man, even to the point of telling them what must and 
what must not be done. I tell you one determined will 
can do very much to make things go right, and it is 
just as true that one, or a hundred, men who have no 
backbone can give way to fear till the devil will hold 
high carnival in the front of the church, if need be. 

I say, let us have a few inore plucky souls who are 
not afraid to face men in authority and demand right 
action against evil and say : 

It is against the law that this or that sin shall be permit- 
ted in our community, and it must stop! 

Give officers of the law a little stiffening for the 
backbone, and they can do great things in staying the 
hand of evil — indeed they can ! 



CVIII— A STRIKING THEORY OF THE 
CREATION. 

In these modern days much has been said of what 
some have been pleased to style "the mistakes of 
Genesis." The modern scientist declares that the crea- 
tion of the earth could not have taken place in six days 
— instead, they assert that it was from fifty to one 
hundred million years in the process of creation, or 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 295 

before it was suitable for the habitation of man. That 
is guessing on a liberal scale indeed ! If the scientist 
can come no nearer to exact figures than that, we 
prefer to adopt the well-known Bible statement of the 
six days of creation. It is certainly far more definite, 
and it must be fully as reliable as the word of a man 
who only guesses that it must have taken from fifty to 
a hundred million of years for the creation of the 
earth. 

I have a friend in Virginia, Rev. William W. 
Staley, D. D., who is a close student and has given 
much time to this matter. He has a striking theory 
of the creation, which is far more plausible than that 
advocated by the man whose guess has in it room 
enough to throw in fifty million of years as an 
uncertainty. 

Dr. Staley puts his view thus : 

The concept I have of creation is that God made all 
departments of the material universe complete. That is, the 
earth was created with all interior formations as if it had 
passed through many geological changes. My basis is in my 
thought of Adam. I do not think Adam was created a baby 
and then passed through stages of development, but I think he 
contained all the interior organs, functions, and conditions of a 
normally developed man by the processes of growth from baby- 
hood. All growth since original creation develops things and 
beings like those first creations. I do not think that coal beds 
grew ; I think God created them ; and yet I am not ignorant of 
the teachings of geology. 

The process of development from liquid mass leaves me no 
ground for the creation of Adam but the development of a man 
from a baby, which seems to me unreasonable. My mind can 
believe in a whole creation in six solar days easier than eons 
and gradual processes. W. W. Staley. 

Some over enthusiastic "moderns" who only pro- 
fess to guess at the length of the time of the creative 
act, making it from fifty to one hundred millions of 
years, might do well to give Dr. Staley's view a season 




Rev. William \v. Stuley, D. D. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 297 

of earnest study — it might do him good and help him 
to become far more Scriptural in his thought. We fully 
believe that the six days theory is more tenable than 
"the from-fifty-to-one-hundred millions" of years. The 
moderns have not got it all their way. The Companion 
Bible, one of the most scholarly works of the first 
decade of the twentieth century, published by The 
Oxford University Tress, in discussing the six days 
theory of the creation, says: 

The word "clay," when used without any limiting words, 
may refer to a long, or prolonged period : as the "day of 
grace," the "day of visitation," the "day of salvation," the 
"day of judgment," the "day of the Lord," "man's day," etc. 
But when the word "day" is used with a numeral (cardinal or 
numeral), as one. two, three, etc., or first, second, and third, 
etc., "evening and morning" (Gen. 1), or the "seventh day" 
(Exod. 20:9-11), etc., it is defined, limited, and restricted to 
an ordinary day of twenty-four hours. 

The same authority goes on yet further to say : 

The word "day" is never used for a year. Sometimes a cor- 
responding number of days is used for a corresponding number 
of years, but in that case it is always expressly stated to be 
so used ; as in Num. 14 : 33, 34. But, even in these cases, the 
word "day" means a day and the word "year" means a year. 
It is not said that a day means a year ; but the number of the 
forty years is said to be "after the number of the days in 
which ye searched the land, even forty days." 

It is the same in Ezek. 4 : 5, where the years of Israel's 
iniquity were laid on Ezekiel, "according to the number of 
the days." In this case also the word "days" means days, and 
the word years means years. 

There is no Scriptural warrant for arbitrarily assuming 
this to be a general principle in the absence of any statement 
to that effect." 

Dr. Staley and The Companion Bible are not far 
apart, and certainly both of them have far more weight 
in their argument than have our "moderns" for their 
guesswork. We are not ashamed of the scholarship 
that stands for the inspired record as safer than the 
guesswork of our moderns, especially when they must 



298 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

needs have a margin of 50,000,000 years in their guess- 
ing. The statements of the inspired Word are far 
safer ! 



CIX— HOW THE MOST UNEXPECTED CAME 

TO PASS. 

It was in my election as editor of The Herald of 
Gospel Liberty in 1906. I had never looked upon it 
as a probability. It is true that a few people had 
suggested the probability, but it did not impress me 
as at all likely, and I did not let it keep me awake. 
About ten days before the Convention, which met that 
year in Huntington, Indiana, I received a letter from 
a brother who held a high official position in the 
Convention, saying that the mind of the brotherhood 
was turning to me as the man for editor, and desiring 
to know if I would allow my name to be used to that 
end. Conscious that such consideration was being 
given me, I replied, but with no thought that the honor 
would likely come to me. I said : 

I cannot take any part in any campaign seeking my 
election, but if the Lord and His people shall lay the duty 
upon me to serve in that capacity, I will do my best to serve. 
That is all I can say!" 

As we came nearer the Convention, then 
only a few days away, I heard more and more 
of the wish of our people to have me serve in 
that place, but still I did not believe I could be 
elected, and so I did not take it seriously. Finally the 
Convention met and on the third day, the election was 
held. The excitement ran high. The lines between 
the two sides were drawn sharply, and each was 
determined to win. I do not mean that the men named 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 299 

for the office were so determined, but their friends 
were. It was expected that a sharp clash would come 
and that it might descend to bitter personalities, but 
as Ave came near to the hour of election, both sides 
quieted, and not an unpleasant word was said, 
certainly not publicly, the election took place, and 
to my surprise I was elected by a good majority. 

Rev. J. J. Summerbell, D. D., was my predecessor, 
and a very able man. He had edited The Herald of 
Gospel Liberty for twelve years. 

While I truly appreciated the confidence of my 

brethren and the honor they had conferred upon me, I 

felt the weight of the responsibility, for I knew in part 

what it meant, having served in a similar capacity in 

the South for more than ten years. Many of my most 

intimate friends were surprised with me at my election, 

for with me, they most likely thought I could not be 

elected. I refused to work for my election on the 

principle that I had committed my way to the Lord. 

I felt if He wished me in that position, He and His 

people could put me there, and if He did not wish me 

to be the editor of our Church paper, then I could not 

afford to take the place, as it would be running counter 

to His will. I felt that the task before me was first 

to follow instruction as given in Psalm 37 : 5 : 

"Commit thy ways unto the Lord; trust also in him; and 
he shall oring it to pass" 

I confess that I did try to do that. For many 
months I had prayed daily that the Lord would choose 
the man for the position, and then put it into the 
hearts of His people to elect that man. I did this in 
the interest of no man, as such, but simply with the 
one desire that the cause of the Master might be served 
to the best advantage possible. 



300 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIR IN G LINE 

As indicating that the Lord had honored my 
submission of the case to His will, and that, too, 
when 1 had no idea that I could be elected, to my 
great surprise He had so thoroughly put it into the 
hearts of His people to elect me that many of the 
leading men admitted that I was chosen because it 
was felt that I was the only man they could elect oyer 
the brother then occupying the editorial chair. But 
why should they have such a thought of me? Cer- 
tainly not because of any preeminent fitness on my 
part, or because of any special ability as a writer. 
1 knew but one conclusion to reach, and that was that 
the Lord had turned the brotherhood to me for some 
good and wise reason. My part was to do my best to 
serye. With this conviction resting upon me, I made 
my solemn promise to the Lord and to myself, with 
His help, to do my very best to please Him, and then 
take the consequences, and in the main, I believe I 
have done as I promised Him. At least, hitherto He 
has helped me. From the day I entered upon my 
duties, I sought His favor, asking Him to put His 
power into my work as editor and so help me to serve 
the best and highest interests of His Church. That 
He has kept His part of the contract with me faith- 
fully I have not the shadow of a doubt. Others may 
doubt it, but I cannot. I praise His name for guidance 
in all these unseen paths. More than ever, I desire the 
Lord to have His way with me — 1 am sure it is the 
best way for my life. 



"Be strong! 
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift. 
We have men's work to do and loads to lift. 
Shun not the struggle; face it. 'Tis God's gift." 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 301 

OX— WHEN I DID NOT KNOW MYSELF. 

It is said that one of the peculiar traits of the 
late Dr. J. B. Jeter, the distinguished Baptist minister 
of Virginia, was forgetfulness. He would forget the 
most unexpected things and at the most unexpected 
times. It is related of him that on one occasion, when 
traveling, he had given direction to have his mail 
forwarded to him at a certain post-office. On his 
arrival, he went to the post-office, and addressing the 
postmaster, said: '"Have you any letters for me?" 
"What name, please ?" said the postmaster. Dr. Jeter 
was silent and looked confused, but at length he 
reluctantly said : "I can't think of my name !" 
"Well/' said the postmaster, "I cannot give you mail 
unless you can give me your name.-' After trying to 
recall his name for some moments, he gracefully 
retired, passing out into the street. He had gone only 
a short distance when he met an old acquaintance, 
who greeted him by saying : "How are you, Dr. Jeter?" 
As quickly as he could get away from the acquaintance, 
he hurried back to the post-office and said to the post 
master : "My name is Jeter, sir — have you any mail for 
J. B. Jeter?" 

This reminds me of two occasions in my own life 
when I did not know myself. Soon after I became 
editor of The Herald of Gospel Liberty at Dayton, 
Ohio, in 1907, some one sent me a copy of a Norfolk 
(Ya.) paper. I had lived there for a number of years 
as pastor of the Memorial Christian Temple, and of 
course, I got to be fairly well acquainted with the city. 
There was in that city a dentist by the name of Dr. 
A. D. Barrett. In the copy of the paper, The Ledger- 
Dispateh, to which reference has been made above, 



302 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

I noticed an article headed: "Dr. Barrett's Broom 
Sweeps Clean/' I said to myself: "I wonder if Dr. 
Barrett has quit dentistry and gone to making 
brooms !" I began to read, to see what the dentist was 
up to in the broom business. I had read only a few 
lines when I discovered it was not Dr. A. D. Barrett 
to whom reference was made, but the reference was to 
myself, and it was quite a compliment on the improve- 
ment in The Herald under my management, and of 
course, I was glad of such an introduction to myself, 
and I felt better. 

On another occasion I was alone, waiting a few 
minutes, when I saw a torn piece of a printed paper 
lying in the dirt near me. It is a task for me to be 
still and do nothing, so to relieve the situation, T 
picked up the bit of paper and began to read. At 
once I became much interested, especially in what was 
said of some' great preacher, whose name I had not 
seen. As I read on, I discovered that there had been 
in some city a great meeting of preachers and other 
people. The man of whom I was reading was in that 
meeting, and seemed, judging from the article I was 
reading, to be leading in some part of the service. A 
good deal was said of the man, of his great power 
over the great congregation in attendance. From what 
had been written of this man, I found myself almost 
lamenting my own littleness in the Lord's work and 
almost envying the good fortune of this man who had 
done so noble a part on the occasion referred to — 
how I wished for such power to do such work as this 
brother had done on the occasion referred to in the 
slip of paper from which I was reading, when, lo and 
behold, I soon came to a line which revealed the 
identity of the man. The meeting was one of the 



\ 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 303 

National Conventions of the Christian Church, and 
to my bewilderment I found the man to whom refer- 
ence was made was none other than myself. I could 
not believe my own eyes. I looked again, and I saw 
I could not be mistaken in my identity. Do not ask 
me how T I felt — I cannot tell you, except to say the 
sensation was peculiar. I dare not try to describe it. 
If you never met yourself and did not know who it 
was, you have not yet had one of the strangest 
experiences that may sometime be yours. Surely the 
writer of that paragraph had put an estimate on my 
life and work to which I was an entire stranger. I 
think I can truthfully say I was never more surprised 
in my life than when I found the reference in the 
paragraph was to myself. 



CXI— FACING A DIFFICULT SITUATION. 

When I became editor of The Herald of Gospel 
Liberty, January 1, 1907, I faced a trying situation. 
My predecessor was a man of great intellectual ability, 
a strong debater and a fearless writer. He had served 
as editor for twelve years, and in that time he had 
made many strong friends, as well as many strong 
opponents. As his successor both sides were watching 
me closely — one to see if I would do a so and so/' and 
the other, to see if I would be very careful to do just 
what they wished me to do. 

When my first issue appeared many were the 
expressions of approval, but that was not the universal 
rule. One minister, after seeing my first issue, ordered 
his paper to be discontinued. He did not explain why, 
but intimated that he could not put up with such 



304 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

work as my first issue promised. Before my second 
issue was out I had received from another minister a 
severe criticism, not so much on some particular point, 
but in general the paper did not suit him. This 
brother kept up his criticisms almost weekly for several 
weeks, and seeing that I did not change under his 
criticism, he wrote me that a storm was gathering and 
that it would break Avith fury on me a little later. 

Another brother desired to use the paper to set 
forth his own personal and heretical opinions. When 
I would not allow it, he took offense and wrote to 
a brother, whom he charged with having elected me as 
editor, and said to him: "You have elected him (me), 
now make him (me) do right." This brother replied 
tbat he could not make the editor do differently any 
more than the man could who was making the demand. 
Another brother wrote an article on a much disputed 
theological question and sent it in to my predecessor 
after I was elected, but before I came into office. As 
it had been accepted, it was turned over to me by 
the former editor, with the statement that he had 
accepted it, but of course I should dispose of it as 
I might see fit. When a bit of leisure came I examined 
it. I could see nothing of real merit in it, although 
it was written in support of the side of a question 
with which I was in sympathy. I reported to the 
former editor that I could not make anything of it, 
and could not see its value. He very kindly asked me 
to return it to him, and at the same time offered to 
rewrite it and prepare it for publication. I returned 
it, and he rewrote it, and I published it. The 
response was quick and generous. I had a 
fight on my hands the first thing. I allowed 
one man to reply, and then closed the discussion. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 30o 

In that way I disposed of that situation. But 
the difficulties were not lacking. A dear brother, 
a venerable father in the ministry, wrote complaining 
that L was not true to the principles of the Christian 
Church. I wrote privately and inquired wherein he 
had found me to be untrue to the principles of the 
Christian Church. It so happened that the very thing 
in which he thought I was untrue was the one point 
on which I thought I was true. One brother wished 
to discuss the mediatorship of Christ, repudiating it. 
Of course I did not allow him to do so. Then he 
wanted to contend that the Bible is a book of human 
production, which I could not allow. By this time 
the editor's office was a sort of a storm center. 

A very prominent man said to me one day : "The 
Herald mast be open to the brethren !" That sounded 
like the tocsin of war, but I said firmly : "It will not 
be while I am editor.'' By that I meant the paper 
should not be open to any and everything which any 
man might offer, regardless of the harm it might do. 

All this had just about served to wake up a little 
company of brethren who were radical in many things 
and disposed to make it lively for me as the new 
editor. I had convictions of what a religious paper 
ought to be, and I was by no means ready to lower my 
colors. Formerly the ; fight had been a sort of a 
skirmish battle. Now it had risen to the dignity of a 
regular engagement, and it w^as kept up with more 
or less vigor through the four years for which I had 
then been elected. I have related this much simply 
to show the background of the difficult situation w r hich 
confronted me. I was naturally timid — never consid- 
ered myself brave, but the time had come when I simply 



306 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

must stand for what I sincerely believed to be right. 

I must do that or discredit my work and do great 

harm, as I believed, to the cause of Christ. I had but 

one recourse left to me. Solomon tells us in Prov. 

18 : 10 that 

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: tho righteous 
runneth into it, and is safe." 

I saw in that passage a place, and my only place 
of safety, and I did my best to hide myself there. I 
will not attempt to say how well I succeeded — the 
Lord knows better than I do. I undertook to go to 
Him daily for help, asking Him to give me courage 
and faith and love and patience and firmness and skill 
to do the work for His honor and glory. Realizing 
my own insufficiency, I pleaded with Him daily to put 
His power into my work and to make it effective for 
His honor and glory, and for the highest and best 
interests of the Church — I asked Him over and over to 
magnify my work and to give me influence with the 
people that I might do them good, and at the same 
time honor my Lord and Master. All I now have to 
say of the matter is this: Whatever of good came of 
my labors came as God's gift, and not as the result of 
any superior ability I had. Truly thus far He has 
led me — only my own folly and weakness have stood 
in the way of better results. In it all, I have tried to 
keep my face toward the light. 



CXII— "HOLDING THEIR OWN." 

In 1910, I went as a representative of the 

Christian Church to the World Missionary Conference, 

which met in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was a great 

trip and a great occasion. More than once I felt that 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 307 

I had been highly favored of the Lord and our people 
in having this honor fall to me. It was indeed a 
world conference. There were many great speakers 
on the program, and of course everything was mission- 
ary from beginning to the end. Two thousand 
delegates were in attendance. Many great thoughts 
impressed me, but of them all, two I remember very 
distinctly, and I remember them because of their 
nature. One was rather ludicrous and the other was 
an awful fact — a fact which ought to have no place 
in the history of the people of God. 

The ludicrous thought came in an address on 
Home Missions. The speaker was emphasizing the 
importance of a strong and vigorous work in the home 
field as a base for the support of the foreign work, 
when he broke out with this statement: 

"The home church will get poorer as long as it does 
nothing but support itself. They remind me of a gentleman, 
who being asked how his hens were getting along, drolly 
answered : 

" *0, they are holding their own, they live by eating their 
own eggs.' " 

Then in a burst of eloquence the speaker declared 
that this is why our churches are not missionary — I 
they live on their own benevolences, and of course 
know little or nothing of the joy of doing real mission- 
ary work. How true ! Many of our churches have not 
yet waked up to the fact that the Great Commission 
was meant for them. As a result they hardly think of 
their personal responsibility. Alas, how many of our 
churches are losing the power of the Christian life 
by reason of the fact that they live on their own eggs 
— their own benevolences. 

The second incident was awful in its nature 
because it strikes at the vital point in the missionary 




© 

SI 



S 

5C *" 






- - 

BO J 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 309 

work and shows a reason why our home churches do 
so little for the spread of the gospel in the lands of 
heathen darkness. One of the commissions of the 
AYorld Conference was requested to make a special 
study of the relation of the ministers of the gospel 
to the great missionary problem. That commission 
reported during the time of the conference. The report 
was first made to the ministers in a meeting to them- 
selves. Dr. J. Ross Stevenson, of Baltimore, U. S. A., 
was given the delicate task of making known the 
findings of this commission. He did his work 
in a very tactful way, and withal in great tenderness. 
Something like five hundred ministers, having assem- 
bled in Tollbooth church, Dr. Stevenson arose and 
after much hesitation he finally said : 

"Brethren, the commission finds that the greatest 
hindrance to the missionary cause is the indifference of the 
ministers of the gospel — the very men upon whom it would 
seem that Jesus Himself might depend to see that the Good 
News of everlasting life might be carried into all the world, 
and yet the startling fact confronts us, that of all Christians 
the ministers of the gospel are the greatest hindrance to the 
missionary cause." 

That is the substance of the remarks Dr. Stevenson 
made. The impression made upon the ministers 
present was profound, but humiliating, and yet the 
aw T ful fact still stares us in the face. Between the 
indifference of the minister and the Church, living on 
its ow T n benevolences, the missionary cause is indeed 
in peril. May God awaken both the ministry and His 
Church to the true situation and their responsibility 
for the same. 



310 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

CXIII— MY RE-ELECTION AS EDITOR IN 1910. 

On the Convention floor in Huntington, Ind., the 
day I was first elected editor of The Herald of Gospel 
Liberty, I was called out to make a speech. I do not 
now recall much of the little I said on that occasion, 
but I do remember making the Convention a voluntary 
promise to the effect that I would first aim to please 
the Lord, and I told them if I should succeed in doing 
that, others must do the best they could to put up 
with my work. I sincerely tried to make good that 
promise, but in doing so I found a difficult task, not 
because the Lord did not seem to be satisfied with my 
purpose, but a few of the brethren were not satisfied, 
and of course they crossed my path many a time, so 
that by the time of the beginning of the fourth year 
of my term, I could distinctly hear the mutterings of 
the distant thunder — the cloud seemed to be rising. 
I knew what it meant. Then came a great temptation 
to play a hand in my own behalf. Thank God, it was 
only a temptation, for I did not yield — I persistently 
refused to make any campaign for myself, meantime 
the thunders of dissatisfaction were distinctly heard. 
Again the temptation was thrust upon me to do some- 
thing for myself toward securing my own re-election. 
This was so contrary to my own purpose that I could 
not enter into it. Of course, it would not be pleasant 
to be defeated, but I made up my mind to suffer defeat 
before I would undertake a campaign in my own 
behalf. If the Lord and His people did not wish me to 
occupy the editor's chair, I did not wish it. Why 
should I? It was a trying place, taxing my strength 
quite to its limit often. Upon a calm review of the 
situation, I took the matter to the Lord and submitted 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 311 

my case to Him. I told Him the best I knew that 1 
was simply His servant; if He wanted me in the 
editor's chair, I would leave it to Him to put me there, 
and if He did not want me there, I was ready and 
willing to retire. Then I told the Lord about the 
fierce opposition which I had stirred up in trying to 
do His will, as I saw it. Then and there I submitted 
my case to Him, and I said : "Lord, if I am pleasing 
Thee, I pray Thee quiet the tongues that are talking 
against me!" I almost trembled at my own request 
— it seemed to be asking so much as to be daring, for 
a few brethren were very much opposed to my work 
as editor. Having committed the matter to the Lord, 
by His grace I was enabled to keep cool and fairly 
trustful throughout the remainder of my first term. 
As the Convention came I could hear that certain 
opposition was developing, but by His grace I was 
kept in . peace, feeling fully assured that if the Lord 
wished my service in that particular work, He could 
keep me there. I have heard of people who were 
surprised at any answer to their own prayers. I must 
confess that it was almost that w r ay when I saw that 
not a word w r as offered publicly in the Convention 
against me, and I w r as re-elected by a unanimous vote. 
Xo praise is due me for this answer to my prayer. 
The Lord did it all. If you ask me why the Lord was 
thus so considerate of myself in the matter, I simply 
have to say, I do not know. His w^ays are past finding 
out. He sometimes chooses to work through the weak, 
Their efficiency in service reflects His glory more than 
the strong. We naturally expect success of a strong 
man and credit it to extraordinary powers, but when 
success comes through the labors of the weak, we can 
but give the glory to God. 



312 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

CXIV— A THEOLOGICAL QUICKSAND. 

A quicksand is a piece of land which has little 
or no strength to it. In appearance it looks much like 
real land, but if you step on to it, you will soon see 
yourself sinking into the depths and darkness of the 
earth, and when you are once in its power it is with 
great difficulty that you can be deliyered from it at all. 
In some cases the downward suction is so great that 
the victim cannot be extricated from his perilous 
position, and then it is only a question of a short time 
when he will be swallowed up of the quicksand and 
death follows. 

Just as we haye quicksands in the earth, which 
are most deceptive, so there are theological quicksands 
— points in the belief of men which seem to be sound 
till you try them, when you will tind yourself gradually 
sinking into the depths of error and ruin. These 
quicksands are not in the Bible. They exist in the 
minds of men who have put a wrong construction on 
the truth, resulting in the downfall of faith and the 
prostration of spiritual energy. We often make these 
theological quicksands seem to be in the Bible, but 
of course that is a mistake — they only seem to one 
who is blind spiritually to be there, for they are in 
the mind of the blind man. One of these quicksands 
gets a setting in 1 John 1 : 8, which reads: 

"// we say that we have no sin, we deecive ourselves, and 
the truth is not in us." 

We are all sinful enough, but that does not justify 
a wrong interpretation of that passage, as is usually 
done in making it mean that no man can be without 
sin. I admit on the face of the statement it does look 
as if it means that, but if we shall go to the bottom of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 313 

the thought, we shall find it means a very different 
thing, and that without any twisting of its teaching. 
If 1 John 1 : 8 means that every man is a liar if he 
says he has no sin, then what will the same inter- 
preter say of verse 6, which declares: 

"// tee say that we have fellowship icith him, and walk 
in darkness, (that is, indulge sin) we lie and do not the truth." 

How can these two passages be true, if the meaning 
is as ordinarily understood? One declares if we walk 
in darkness and say we have fellowship with God, we 
lie. The other says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive 
ourselves and the truth is not in us. We must admit 
that walking in darkness and having sin in us are one 
and the same thing. There must be some explanation ! 

And there is an explanation wiiich explains. I 
discovered it years ago when I was confronted with 
the seeming difficulty as it is stated in verse 8. If 
verse 8 is true, then I could not see how verse 6 is 
true, and yet I could but believe that properly under- 
stood, both verses were true. 

In reaching an understanding in this matter, \ 
was led to enquire who had ever taught any such 
an idea as that contained in verse 6. I did not see how 
any sincere and intelligent Christian could hold to 
the thought that one could have fellowship with God 
while he is walking in darkness — (sin). I began 
my investigation by hunting for the people who had 
ever taught such a doctrine. I soon found that in the 
days of John, the writer of the verse in question, 
there lived a man by the name of Nicholas, and that 
he taught that a Christian could be in fellowship with 
God while he was walking in the darkness of sin. 
That fact gave me a starting point. I saw that John 



314 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

was dealing with that question and the people who 
taught it, for both John and Nicholas lived in the 
same time. In clearing up the truth he went on to 
explain as in verse 7, where he says by way of refuting 
that pernicious teaching: 

1 'If ice walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have 
fellowship one with another, and the Mood of Jesus Christ His 
Son cleanseth us from all sm." 

That is the true way, walking in the light, not 
in darkness, we shall maintain fellowship with the 
Lord and with His people, meantime the blood of 
Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That is the view John 
held and taught. 

Referring to the erroneous teaching of Nicholas, 
John goes on to say : 

"If we say" (as the Nicolaitanes do) "that we have 

no sin," (and yet walk in darkness, as they do) "we 

deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." John 

was not even referring, as we understand him, to the 

experience 1 of the true Christian in verse 8, but 

directly to the Nicolaitanes who taught that idea. 

Then in verse 9, he admits that the Christian may 

sin, but he tells him how to get pardon for his sins, 

viz. : 

"If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

So you can easily see that the way of salvation 
is in just the opposite direction, not walking in the 
darkness, but by walking in the light, as God is in the 
light. When we do that, then the blood of Jesus Christ 
keeps us clean. Just as the fluid of the eye keeps the 
eye clean so long as we keep the conditions right. 

Many profess to believe that the human heart 
cannot be kept clean and pure. That is rank unbelief. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 315 

A traveler visited an old unoccupied castle in Europe. 
Though not occupied, the floor of the hall was very 
clean. He was amazed ! Seeking an explanation, he 
discovered that the peculiar shape of the hallway 
permitted the passage of a strong current of wind 
through it continually, and then it was all plain 
enough, the constant blowing of the wind kept the 
hallway clean. Is it possible that God can do for an 
old unoccupied floor more than He can do for the 
human heart? Can He furnish a wind to keep a 
deserted hallway clean, and can He not also furnish 
cleansing power for the human heart as it is steeped 
in sin? Be careful! Do not say, u He cannot do it" — 
He can. The blood of Jesus Christ keeps the believing, 
trusting heart clean and pure and peaceful! 



CXV— A PORTRAYAL OF A MISSPENT LIFE. 

While I was pastor at Covington, Ohio, it fell to 
my lot to attend the Sunday-school Conference at 
Winona, Ind., one summer. That year Creatoress 
band was there, and I had the pleasure of hearing 
their music. I reached the tabernacle a trifle late, and 
I suppose it was on this account that I missed getting 
a copy of the program for the evening. Of course, the 
music was fine and I much enjoyed it, but not having a 
program, I did not know what they were giving us, 
but I did know that I was impressed as never before 
in my life by instrumental music. 

One thing that impressed me was the perfect con- 
trol Mr. Creatore had over his musicians. They 
watched him- and followed his leadership with the 



31G FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

deepest interest and closest accuracy. Their eyes and 
instruments followed his movements, as if everything 
depended upon it. They reminded me of that passage 
of Scripture in the Psalms — 123:2 — where the sacred 
writer declares — 

i "Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of 
(heir masters, and as the eyes of a maid unto the hand of her 
mistress; so our eyes icait upon the Lord our God, until that 
He have mercy upon us." 

The way these musicians watched and followed 
their leader set me to thinking. Then, reasoning with 
myself, I said : 

"Suppose Christians would watch the life of Christ and 
follow His teachings as closely as these men follow Mr. 
Creatore !" 

I said to myself: 

"In that case this world would soon he won to Christ, 
for the world would not resist such devotion and activity in 
service." 

This thought deeply impressed me, and before I 
realized its power over me, J found my eyes were full 
of tears. I was mightily moved, but the climax was 
yet to come. 

The band began a rather lengthy piece. It re- 
quired forty-two minutes to play it. T soon saw it was 
to be given to us in sections. I noticed the leader 
seemed to be under great excitement and strain. My 
very being was stirred by the heart-reaching and yet 
awfully solemn, music. I cannot tell you how I was 
impressed, but, I realized that it was sweeping me out 
of the reach of other thought till I was thinking only 
of the music. I was depressed and yet mightily moved, 
but I did not know why. Several divisions of the 
music had been completed, when the band itself seemed 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 317 

to lose si*»iit of themselves, and I must confess the 
leader looked more like a raving- maniac than otherwise. 
As they came nearer to the end of the music there 
seemed to be something unearthly in it. It did seem 
as if the whole band, leader and all, had lost control 
of themselves, and was rushing headlong into con- 
fusion. I had never heard its like before, and I was 
wondering what it could all mean. Then as they drew 
near to the end of that special piece, the scene beggared 
description — it was as a battle in which one side was 
rushing in the midst of greatest confusion to the com- 
plete destruction of the other side, and as they finished, 
the audience broke into wild applause, but I found 
myself, not applauding, but weeping — why, I knew^ not. 
I was simply overwhelmed w^ith the presence of some 
unknown influence. The audience shouted its approval, 
but I was weeping over an undefined something. The 
music had strangely and mightily moved me. 

The next morning a copy of the program of the 
night before fell into my hands, and then, for the first 
time, I saw that the music which had so strangely 
moved me was the masterpiece of a great composer 
— it w r as Faust's Damnation — a musical portrayal of 
a misspent and a lost life. Then I began to under- 
stand the spirit of it. I saw that the first of the last 
two divisions which had so moved me was Faust's 
description of the descent of a lost soul into hell, and 
the last division, in which Mr. Creatore acted like a 
mad man, was a musical presentation of the scene of 
a lost soul as it entered hell, when all bedlam broke 
loose. No language at my command can do the scene 
justice. Then I saw through it all, in part, at least, 
and I knew what it was that so overwhelmed my 
emotions — I had heard, in a sense unconsciously, the 



318 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

cry of a lost soul as he plunged into the bottomless pit 
of everlasting death — everlasting separation from God ! 
My deeper nature had been stirred and my pity had been 
aroused. No wonder I did not feel like shouting 
applause for the players, for my very being was re- 
sponding to the agony of a lost soul as he had gone 
down into hell. To me the situation called for any- 
thing rather than applause! I think I shall never 
forget that music, the center scene of which was 
the despair of a lost soul ! It was awful, awful, awful ! 



CXVl— WILLIAM WUEMS— A VERY SINGULAR 
INCIDENT. 

I spent the second Sunday in September, 1907, 
with Rev. (lias. M. Hagan and wife and the Christian 
church at Mt. Sterling, Ohio, preaching morning and 
evening. Bro. Hagan and his Avife were just then in 
the meridian of their long and useful career with that 
church. Just then they were building a new and 
handsome church edifice. We worshiped in a hall that 
day as the new building was not yet occupied. Mt. 
Sterling is a delightful little village, with much wealth 
and culture for a place of its size. The town had just 
voted out the saloon. Of course there had been consid- 
erable excitement in doing a piece of work of that 
sort, and there was some feeling between the opposing 
interests, but the one thing settled was the doom of 
the saloon, it had to go! 

One of these doomed saloons had its back lot 
emptying in an alley. The parsonage lot also reached 
the same alley and not far away from the saloon- 
keeper's back lot, though the parsonage and the saloon 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 



319 



were on different streets. Bro. Hagan told me that in 
the rear of the said saloon, just outside of his lot and 
in the alley there was a very strange thing, viz.: A 
big spider had woven his webb circular and on a hori- 
zontal line about as high as a man's shoulders. There 
was the usual circle of the webb, and then from the 
center out to the rim the spider had run tw T o parallel 
lines of the Avebb, about three-quarters of an inch apart, 
and then between these two lines the spider had woven 





^^^^^nn7 


z!x-&-w 


JtH7f/W l(fijffYVy id/ 1 1/ it 




-m^vKT^^ 







The Strange Work of a Spider 



in its webb from the upper to the lower lines the 
letters of the saloon-keeper's name — WILLIAM 
WURMS. Bro. Hagan, after telling me about it, asked 
me to go and see it. I did not doubt his word, for he 
was a Christian man, but it was hard to believe that 
what he had told me was real. Of course I went with 
him and saw it for myself. It was there plain enough 



320 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

to read easily— WILLIAM WURMS. It was a matter 
of not a little curiosity to the people of the town, but 
it was more than that to the saloon-keeper, for he 
regarded it, so I was told, as a sign of his death. He 
did not disturb it. I suppose he was afraid to do so. 
Whether it was a sign of the saloon-keeper's death or 
not, his business died and that was important. No one 
could explain the singular freak of the spider, and so 
far as I know its like has not been seen elsewhere at 
all. There can be no doubt of the truth of the incident, 
for I saw it myself. 



CXVII— THE FATHER WHO TOOK HIS 
DAUGHTER'S PLACE IN DEATH. 

On Sunday, May 14, 1911, I preached for the 
Christian church at West Milton, Ohio. I was the 
guest of Mr. Tanzy R. Furnas. During the afternoon 
he related to me one of the most singular incidents I 
have known of in all of my experience as a minister of 
the gospel. Mr. Furnas said he knew the facts per- 
sonally and so did not hesitate to say he would vouch 
for the same. 

There lived at Spring Valley, Ohio, a man by the 
name of Griffith. He was a man of the world, not very 
thrifty, nor could you rely upon his word with any 
great certainty. He was careless and indifferent. He 
had a family, and while he loved them and took a 
certain interest in supporting them, he was not by any 
means what is known as a good provider. 

But there came a day when he was converted, and 
with his conversion there came a revolution in his life. 
He became an industrious man, truthful, and reliable 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 



321 



day by day, in any and every thing. He went to work 
to make provision for the maintenance of his family. 
About this time his daughter Nannie, a young lady of 
perhaps twenty years, was stricken down with a 
serious illness. He sent for the doctor, but went him- 
self to his work on the railroad. 

The doctor came and made examination, and 
frankly told the mother that he knew just what the 

disease was, as he had read 
of many such cases, but that 
he had never known a single 
case to be cured — all, with- 
out exception, died. This so 
shocked the mother that she 
sent at once a message to 
the husband at work on the 
railroad. When he received 
the message he too was so 
severely shocked that he fell 
upon his knees then and 
there in the midst of his 
fellow-workers and prayed 
child, asking the Lord to 
of the child. He pleaded 
earnestly for his child, but just as earnestly for him- 
self — that he might be taken and his daughter left. 
He gave the Lord his reason for the request. He said 
that Nannie would be worth much more to her mother 
than he could be, and on that plea he begged that she 
might be spared and himself taken. His plea was 
granted. The young 'lady is still living and was 
spared, as the father desired, to care for her mother. 
In a very short time Mr. Griffith was stricken with 
typhoid fever and in four weeks he passed away to his 






Tanzy 


R. Furnas 


God 


to 


spare 


the 


take 


him 


in 


place 



322 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRIXG LINE 

reward, and in the mean time the girl had recovered 
entirely, a thing rarely ever known for one suffering 
with her disease. This is one of the most remarkable 
incidenCs I have met in my ministry. Mr. Furnas said 
the man himself did not relate the incident, but his 
associate workmen gave the facts. 

"God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform." 



CXVIII— A BOILING SPRING IN THE MIDDLE 
OF A CROWDED STREET. 

It was April 28, 1911. The day was rainy and 
gloomy. I was standing by the western window in the 
editorial rooms of The Herald of Gospel Liberty in the 
city of Dayton, Ohio. Another party was standing by 
the next window on the same side, looking out, but 
talking very rapidly. 1 was listening to what he was 
saying, but a peculiar motion in a small puddle of 
water down on Ludlow Street attracted my attention. 
It seemed to be boiling rapidly. T watched it, but said 
nothing for a short while. At length the phenomenon 
was so unusual that I stopped the party talking to ine 
and said to him: "Do you see that puddle of water 
in the street boiling?" He looked and at once said: 
"I do— what can it be?" "Well," said I, "it looks 
like it is boiling." There were other puddles of water 
near by, but none of them seemed to be boiling. On 
the other hand they seemed to behave as water 
ordinarily does under similar circumstances. Both 
of us became very much interested, but we could not 
explain the cause of it. The man said: "I am going 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 323 

down to make an examination. I want to understand 
what it means." 

Soon I raised the window and looked at the puddle 
of water and saw thai apart from the window it was 
natural in its behavior. Then 1 let the window down 
again, and behold it was again boiling. Then I began 
to see that the trouble was not in the water, but in the 
medium through which I was seeing the water. Some 
queer freak in the glass was responsible for the 
strange delusion. 

Then I recalled the fact that once standing in the 
parsonage at Covington, Ohio, and looking on the front 
porch of a neighbor's new building, then in course of 
construction, I saw the queerest shaped porch I had 
ever seen — it was twisted into awful shapes. I gazed 
at it in great surprise. I could not imagine what my 
neighbor desired such a porch for. Then it occurred 
to me to go to another window and look. When I did 
that, I discovered that the porch was in its natural 
shape and all right. Then I discovered that the trouble 
was in the glass through which I was looking at the 
new T building. Some freak in the glass gave it the 
abnormal appearance. 

I have come to think that the same thing occurs 
in the intellectual affairs of men. 'We see things so 
differently. It must be that there is a twist in the 
intellectual vision which makes people see things so 
out of shape. One person sees a certain question from 
one standpoint. Another sees it from altogether 
another standpoint. What is the matter? It is a 
queer freak in the mental make-up — the intellectual 
vision has a twist in it, and so the thing is seen in a 
distorted way. Then discussion arises, and then 
controversy, and next personal ill feeling, and then 



324 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

loss of temper, and then separation of chief friends. 
Why? Oh, because the water was boiling in the 
street, or the porch was twisted all out of shape, albeit 
the freak in the window glass was responsible for the 
trouble in both cases. 

It may be, and no doubt is often that way in the 
matter of religious opinions. We look at some grea^ 
question through a twisted mental vision — we see 
things so differently from what the man standing at 
the other window sees, and then we begin to discuss it, 
and because we do not see it alike, we fall out and 
separate one from the other. We begin to set up a 
new party to support our particular view of the ques- 
tion. Then the fight begins, and instead of giving 
ourselves to seeing things of truth in its right light, we 
are perverting even the perversion that we may make 
more pronounced our differences. In this way the 
world is full of theological and other differences, and 
as a result many battles are fought among brethren 
to the great injury of the cause of Christ. 

All this state of things comes about because of a 
sort of mental twist. It is a sort of disease, and it 
needs treatment — needs to be cured, or it will go on 
working injury to the cause of Christ. 

Is there any cure for it? There is. Get your Bible 

and turn to Matt. 17 : 8, and read. It says : 

"And when they hud lifted up their eyes, they saw no man 
save Jesus only:' 

That was a marvel of vision. They had . been 
praying. Jesus came and touched them, and then they 
saw everything in a different light— even in the light 
of Christ. As I see it, I am impressed that what that 
text really means is that when they looked up and saw 
Jesus, then they saw everything in the light of the 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 325 

Christ, and seeing all things in the same light, they 
saw alike. Surely if John saw everything in the light 
of Christ, and Peter did the same, and then James did 
the same, why seeing it in the same light, they would 
see and understand it alike most likely. 

It is that way in the natural world. If one looks 
at an object through a red glass, everything looks red, 
or through a blue glass, and everything seems blue, or 
through a green glass and everything looks green. If 
all were looking through a glass of the same color, all 
would see it in the same light, and differences would 
disappear, 

Now if the disciples of Christ would follow direc- 
tions till results come, we should have such an experi- 
ence in the religious life. If we could all wait at Jesus' 
feet till He should stoop to touch our hearts as with 
the divine flame of love, we should be able to see things 
in the light of Christ, and then, no doubt, our differ- 
ences would disappear, and all because we had the 
right light on the question, viz. : The light of Christ. 
That will settle family difficulties, personal difficulties, 
church difficulties. Indeed, seeing life under the light 
of Christ makes a wonderful difference in the way it 
appears. 

Have you a personal difficulty, or a family 
difficulty, or a church difficulty, then go to your knees 
and stay there till you are conscious of the divine touch 
of Jesus, and that will help you to see it all in the 
light of Christ, and then difficulties will disappear and 
you will be ready for a love feast. 

Watch the freaks in the mediums through which 
you look at all questions, for if the medium is twisted 



326 FORTY YEARS OX THE FIRING LIXE 

by sin, or ignorance, or prejudice, you will see the 
thing upon which you look so distorted as to bring 
division between you and your best friends. 



CXIX— BEAUTIFUL RED APPLES— A 

TESTIMONY. 

In the days of my pastorate at the Memorial 
Christian Temple, we had many seasons of refreshing 
from the presence of the Lord, for He came often into 
our midst, and when He came, He showed Himself in 
the testimonies of His people. Oyer and over some 
of the best testimonies 1 ever heard were given by the 
plain, common people. The Spirit of the Lord was in 
our midst. In those days we roamed in green pastures 
and by the still waters. To us He made good His 
Word as given in Is. 26: 3 — 

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, irliose mind is 
stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee" 

Indeed, the Lord spread a great table for His 
little ones and from it He fed them with a lavish hand. 
One of the testimonies given in such a time of spiritual 
feasting abides with me yet. It was so tersely pre- 
sented, and withal so striking that I have never for- 
gotten it. We were in a devotional meeting. Many were 
testifying to the power of God's grace in the heart. 
Bro. T. A. Twiddy, then just out of the ways of sin, 
and well started in the Christian race, said, and I can 
quote almost his exact words from memory: 

"For some time I have been thinking if I would do 
Christian work. I must do this and I must do that, I must 
testify in the public congregation, I must visit the sick, I must 
attend the prayer-meeting, I must be active in the Sunday- 
school, and this was and is all right — these things are good 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 



327 



and necessary in the Christian Life, but r see the whole matter 
in another light now. My first and best work, as a Christian, 
is to bring my life into harmony with God by obeying the 
teachings of His Word. A right life is a power for God and 
a great help to the unsaved. It will reach a heart and by 
the Spirit's power change a life far more readily than going 
to Sunday-school, more readily than talking in the prayer- 
meeting, more readily than visiting the sick, for while all of 

these are good and important, 
no one of them is equal to the 
life which is truly hid with 
Christ in God, for among all of 
God's agencies for winning the 
world to Jesus, none are more 
important, none so effective as 
the heart that is conformed to 
the image of Christ and filled 
with His LOVE, That will not 
only work a great change in the 
life of the one possessing it, but it 
will reach and change other lives. 
"The true Christian life, as 
I see it, is like a big apple tree 
in its attractive power. If the 
tree is hanging with knotty 
fruit, sour and poor, no one is 
drawn to it. On the other hand, 
if the tree is hanging with 
beautiful red and ripe apples, 
that will attract and attract mightily. If you do not believe 
me, try it. Turn a good live boy loose in reach of such an 
apple tree and you will see how long the fruit will be left 
untouched. The one tree repels, the other attracts. That 
is just the difference between an unworthy profession of faith 
in the Lord and a genuine Christian life. The one repels the 
unsaved, the other attracts him. 

If I, as a Christian, can show Christ in His beauty in my 
life, my associates can hardly keep from longing to have in 
them the Christ, as they have seen Him manifested in my life. 
So I am coming to think that the first and most important 
thing for me, as a Christian, is not public testimony, though 
that is fine, when it is supported by a right life; it is not 
regular attendance upon the prayer-meeting, although the 
Christian cannot afford to absent himself from the place of 
worship ; it is not going to great conventions, though that is 
a blessed privilege when we are in the Spirit and the Spirit 
is in us, but the great thing for me as a Christian is to live 
with Christ and in Christ till I can become as attractive to 
the man of the world as the tree hanging with red, ripe, 




Deacon T. A. Twiddy 



328 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

and sweet apples is to the boy who is out to see what he can 
find." 

Bro. Twiddy has been true to the testimony he 
gave on that occasion. He is faithful in his attendance 
upon the regular services of the church, but he is 
making Christ crowned within his hope of glory, and 
to this end he is waiting and serving. 



(XX— A GRACEFUL DAUGHTER OF THE KING. 

It fell to my lot as editor of our Church paper, in 
1.910, if I make no mistake, to attend one of the 
Kentucky Christian con Terences. It was my first visit, 
and I was interested in everything that was going on 
among the people. Nothing took and held my atten- 
tion more than their manner of worship. To any 
reader who may be acquainted with the peculiarities 
of the Cane Ridge revival, it will be comparatively 
easy to make myself understood. It may be sufficient 
to say thai this conference was an outgrowth of the 
Cane Ridge revival. The year 1 was with them was 
their one hundred and sixth year as an organized 
conference. I had a long ride across the country over 
a very rough road from Vanceburg to Blankenships, 
the place of the meeting of conference. The brethren 
gave me a very cordial welcome. In the transaction 
of business nothing unusual occurred. The first 
devotional service convinced me that before they were 
through I should witness some things new and old, 
unique and exciting. 

They were very enthusiastic in singing and pray- 
ing, and this I rather liked. I never could conceive 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 329 

of the church as a refrigerator. One thing was clear 
from the start, viz. : The religious temperature was 
high. It was even then slowly but surely rising. The 
contrast between the fervor of these people and that 
of those who were in the great centers of civilization 
was marked. They did not hesitate to shout when 
they felt inclined to do so, and that was not infre- 
quent. Some of the scenes in these meetings made a 
lasting impression upon my mind. At times there was 
extraordinary shouting and their joy did seem to flow 
as a river. 

I recall somewhat vividly a few instances of 
unusual demonstrations. One lady, quite handsomely 
dressed and rather under middle age, seemed to come 
suddenly from the center of the crowd to the altar. 
She came as in a great hurry, and by the time she had 
reached the altar, she fell her full length on the floor 
and seemed for a time quite helpless, and this was 
only one of many similar cases. Men fell to the floor 
as if taken and made helpless by some unseen power. 
One man lay, as if dead, for several minutes, although 
about him there was> not a little excitement and much 
rejoicing. He seemed to know nothing of what was 
going on around him. At high-water mark the scene 
was indescribable. No language at my command can 
portray its intensity. 

Some of the scenes seemed extravagant, and yet 
with most of the worshipers there was such a depth of 
sincerity and earnestness that I dared not say a word 
in derision. It was not my way of worshiping, but it 
was theirs, and believing they were sincere, I left them 
in the loving care of Him whom they worshiped. I am 
sure it is better thus to worship than not to worship 
at all. In fact, I do not for one moment say that our 



330 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

Father, who is infinite in variety, cannot give them a 
way to worship Him, a way. which is as well adapted 
to their religious condition and mental capacity, as 
the way He has given me is adapted to my needs. That 
is one of the great beauties of God's love. He can 
manifest it to one as well as to another, when the 
heart is ready and anxious to receive and follow the 
leading of the Holy Spirit. 

The one incident which most attracted my atten- 
tion, and gives the heading to this sketch, was the 
climax of anything I had ever seen. In the midst of 
the excitement and religious joy, a middle aged woman 
seemed very happy, although she was very quiet. She 
was exceedingly graceful in her movements. She 
seemed by her actions to indicate thai she had caught 
a glimpse of the King in His beauty. She was enraptured 
by what she was seeing. Her eyes were lifted toward the 
skies and she was gazing upon a vision of rare beauty 
— she was bowing in the most graceful manner 
and waving her hand as if saluting her Lord and 
Master. I can never forget the scene as I witnessed it. 
There she stood, not for a minute, but for many minutes, 
quiet and peaceful, with her face radiant, as if lighted 
by rays from the face of the Sun of Righteousness. 
Never before, nor since, have I witnessed just such 
graceful movements of the human body, nor such 
expressions of heavenly peace on any other human 
face. Whatever might be said against her manner, 
there was absolutely nothing that could be said against 
the seemingly divine gracefulness of her movements 
and the perfect peace which was so wonderfully 
mirrored in her face. I see her yet. I cannot get rid 
of her picture — she was so gracefully saluting the King. 
She was a backwoods mountaineer and I am unable 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 331 

to persuade myself that her graceful movement in 
saluting the Unseen One could have been carnal, or 
that the peace which wreathed her face was in any 
wise put on for the occasion. She must have been in 
some way the happy recipient of a wonderful infilling 
of the Spirit. To cold hearts no doubt she seemed 
extravagant in the outward manifestations of her 
inward life, but in some way it must have been of God, 
for I know no human power that can work such trans- 
formations, or produce such expressions of peace — the 
peace that passeth all understanding. 

Some may laugh at such displays among the com- 
mon people, but it seems to me that God is fully 
competent to manifest Himself to the plain moun- 
taineer and adapt His truth to the needs of their inner 
lives, just as surely as He can adapt the same truth to 
the needs of the more refined in human society. To 
say the least, I am glad I was present and saw for 
myself the worship of these mountaineers. 

What these people had in this seemingly extrava- 
gant form, we all need in its reality, in its real power 
— we need a pure heart and a right life, truly devoted 
to the higher ends of our being in the service of God. 
Its manifestation might be very different in us from 
what it is in them, but the final fruits of truth in 
human life must be much the same. In truth the 
King's daughter must be all glorious within, her 
clothing must be of wrought gold, ere she can come 
unto the King in raiment of needlework. See Ps. 45. 

More purity give me, 
More strength to overcome; 
More freedom from earth-stains, 
More longings for home; 
More fit for the kingdom, 
More used would I be; 
More blessed and holy, 
More, Savior, like Thee! 



332 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

CXXI— A PUZZLING QUESTION. 

You can brush a cob-web aside and go on, but if you 
are to run against a stone wall, it will be wise to stop 
and consider what the consequences might be in case 
of such an encounter. So it is with many questions. 
You can push one aside, but another will not budge — 
it is too big to move. It would be foolish to run against 
it. To do so would be to knock yourself down, but 
one can afford to be knocked down for the truth, yet 
many fear fo go through such an ordeal. 

One of these questions we find in 1 John 3 : 9, 
which reads: 

"Whosoever is horn of God doth not commit Sin . . . ; 
and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 11 

That passage has greatly puzzled both the learned 
theologians and the common people. Cannot sin? The 
very thought is absurd! It arouses all the unbelief of 
which the ordinary mind is capable. "What," say they, 
"do you mean to tell me that if I am born of God, I 
cannot sin?" The whole man rebels against such an 
idea, and without stopping to get the real meaning, 
he turns away, repudiating the whole thing. The 
theologian sees the difficulty. He cannot explain it, 
and so he sets to work to devise a meaning that suits 
his idea. He says that it means that whosoever is born 
of God does not sin habitually , but that every now 
and then he does — that is to be expected. 

If that were the true explanation we should have 
the privilege to sin once in a while. But that is non- 
sense! It will not do at all. Think of it! If I may 
sin once in a while and be free, how far apart may 
these acts of sin come? Once a year? Then if I may sin 
once a year, why may I not also sin once in six 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 333 

months? If once in six months, why not once a month? 
If once a month, why not once a week, or once a day? 
A man who should sin once a J^ear, or once in six 
months, or once a mtmth, or once a week, or even once 
a day, would not be sinning habitually. If the text 
means that whosoever is born of God does not sin 
habitually, there can be no doubt that the opposite is 
true, viz. : That he may sin once in a while and still 
be one that is born of God. That explanation involves 
us in too much of a mix up with the plain word as 
given us in the New Testament, which declares not 
only that he does not sin, but that he cannot. If he 
cannot sin once in a while, then how shall he have 
power to sin one hour of the day and at another hour 
be unable to do it? The Bible says he cannot do it 
at all, as one who is born of God. 

More than that, Jesus told the impotent man to 
sin "no more," lest a worse thing should come upon 
him. He did not tell the man to be careful and not 
sin often, but no more! Then, too, John said, "sin 
not." Not only so, but John says in the chapter from 
which the text is taken : "Whosoever committeth sin is 
of the devil." Verse 8. If it be true that the text 
quoted above means we are not to sin habitually, then 
when we do sin, do we belong to God or to the devil? 
John says we belong to the devil, and I prefer to believe 
John is speaking the truth — a truth we all need to 
understand to-day. Do you object to this truth? If 
so, do not fall out with this writer, for he is not the 
author of it — go and tell Jesus what your objections 
are and see what He will say to you. 

John declares that this matter of sin shows which 
are the children of God and which are the children of 



334 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

the devil. We may not like that view, but that is the 
way John states the fact. See verse 10. 

If it does not mean that we cannot sin habitually, 
then what does it mean? It means just what it says. 
Let me show you in another way what the text means. 
Do not quit the argument here, for if you do, you will 
lose its real value — go with me to the end, and then 
you may say what you think, whether it is true, or not 
true. But if you say it is not true, then do you mean 
God's word speaks falsely? You would hardly be 
willing to say that — at least I hope you would not. 

If I should say: "Whosoever is an honest man 
will not cheat, " or if I should say, kk Whosoever is a 
truthful man will not lie/' would you doubt my state- 
ment? Most certainly you would not. You would say 
that is true — must be true from the very nature of 
the case. But suppose 1 should say it simply means 
that whosoever is an honest man does not cheat 
habitually, what would you say to that? Or if I should 
say, "Whosoever is a truthful man does not lie 
habitually" would you accept that as the explanation 
of the meaning of the statement that an honest man 
does not and cannot cheat, or that a truthful man does 
not and cannot lie? You know you would not accept 
any such statement. You would declare that a man 
who will cheat once a week is not to be trusted — that a 
man who will lie once a day cannot be trusted to tell 
the truth. 

Then what does it mean? What is sin? It is, 
according to John, a transgression of the law, that is 
a breaking of God's law — a plain truth. If a man sins, 
breaks God's law, he is a sinner — what else can ;nou 
make of him? Suppose a man cheats purposely, then 
he is a fraud. Suppose he lies intentionally, then he 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 335 

is a liar, and you cannot make anything else of it. On 
the other hand, suppose a man should sell yon a suit of 
clothes for $40 and then it was to prove a cheap and 
shoddy article, and going back to him and telling hiin 
what the goods had proven to be, and he should at once 
assure you he really thought he was selling you a good 
article, and at the same time show you his sincerity by 
giving you your money back, would you say he had 
cheated you? Certainly you would not. Would you 
think less of him than you did before? Certainly not, 
most likely you would think better of him, and for the 
reason that he had shown himself to be an honest man. 
He simply made a mistake due to the limitations of 
his knowledge. If a man should tell you that your 
house was burning dow T n, but on reaching home, you 
found it was not true. Then on going to him about it, 
he should tell you that he saw a house at a distance 
in flames, and according to his best judgment it was 
your house, and told you as an act of neighborly kind- 
ness, would you hold him to be a liar? Certainly you 
would not. You would say, "While it was not true, he 
thought he was telling the truth, and reported it as a 
kindness." So you can easily see the difference between 
transgressing a law intending to do wrong, and 
transgressing a law ignorantly, meaning to do right. 
The two acts are altogether different. 

That is what John means when he says, "Whosoever 
is born of God cannot sin." He cannot knowingly 
transgress a law of God, if he has been born of the 
Spirit. He may make a mistake and so mislead you, 
but that would not be a sin — it would be a mistake, 
involving no moral wrong. That is the difference in 
committing sin and making a mistake. 



336 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

If a man sins wilfully he cannot be born of God, 
for one born of God cannot do that, not that he has not 
the power, physically to do so, but he has not the 
disposition to do so — he is set against it — his whole 
moral nature is set against breaking God's law. As 
a man, I have the power to kill a fellow man, but as a 
Christian, my whole moral and spiritual nature rebels 
against such an act. Physically I have the power, but 
morally and spiritually, I simply cannot do it. In that 
sense, "Whosoever is born of God cannot sin" — he has 
not the disposition which will enable, or permit, him 
to do such a thing, and therefore in that sense he 
cannot do it. In that sense the text means just what 
it says and it is true. You are compelled to say a 
true Christian cannot do that sort of thing. Well, 
that is all John 3: 9 says about it — if he is born of the 
Spirit he cannot do such tilings. His heart shrinks 
from it — turns away from it — he cannot do it. He 
will not. 



OXXII— A DREAM WHICH GREATLY 
INFLUENCED MY LIFE. 

Many have said there is nothing in a dream. That 
is doubtless true of some dreams, but it is not true 
of the one I am now about to relate. It was not my 
own dream that so much influenced my life, but that 
of another, which, through the kindness of a stranger, 
fell into my hands some twenty-five years ago. What 
it has done for me it may do for others. I am therefore 
giving it a place in this book, in the hope that God may 
use it yet further to influence human life for His glory 



EXPERIENCED ALONG THE W 1 ) 337 

The dream was that of a minister of the gospel, 
which I will give to you, as follows: 

"I sat down in an arm chair, wearied with my work. My 
toil had been severe and protracted. Many were seeking 
Christ, and many had found Him. As for myself, I » x ras 
joyous in my work. My brethren were united. My sermons 
and exhortations were evidently telling on my hearers. My 
church was crowded. Tired from long and hard work, I soon 
lost myself in a sort of a half forgotten state. I must have 
been sleeping when the vision was given me. 

"Suddenly a stranger entered my study, without any pre- 
liminary 'tap,' or 'come in.' He was not only a stranger, but, 
he carried with him a strange outfit of measurers, chemical 
agents, and implements. There was nothing to indicate the 
purpose of these or his visit. 

"The stranger came toward me, and extending his hand, 
he said : 

" 'How is your zeal?' 

"I had supposed that the query was to be for my health, 
but I was pleased that he wished to know of my zeal, for I 
was quite well pleased with that, and felt assured that the 
stranger would be also pleased when he should know fully of 
the greatness of my zeal. 

"Instantly I conceived of it as physical quantity, and 
putting my hand into my bosom, I brought forth my zeal in 
a lump and presented it to the stranger for inspection. 

"He took it, and, placing it in his scale, he weighed it 
carefully. I heard him say: 

" 'One hundred pounds! 9 

"I could scarce suppress an audible note of satisfaction : 
but I caught his earnest look as he noted down the weight ; 
and I saw at once that he had drawn no final conclusion, but 
was intent on pushing his investigation. 

"He broke the mass to atoms, put it into his crucible, and 
put the crucible into the fire. Then I was not sure of the 
character of my zeal, nor did I feel so sure as to what he 
would find in thus looking into my life. 

"When the mass was fused he took it out and set it to 
cool. In cooling, it congealed, and when turned out on the 
hearth, the mass exhibited a series of layers or strata ; which 
all, at the touch of the hammer, fell apart. He took each 
piece and tested it, weighing it carefully, and at the same 
time he made minute notes of results as the process went 
on. I was sure that this work was most important! 

"When he had finished, he presented the notes to me, and 
gave me a look of mingled sor/oiv and compassion, but not a 



338 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

word, except, 'May God save you !' and at once the stranger 
vanished, leaving me alone ! 

"The notes he handed to me read as follows : 

" 'Analysis of the zeal of Junius — a Candidate for a Crown 
of Glory: 

Total weight of his ZEAL one hundred pounds. The analy- 
sis of this zeal showed up as follows : 

Bigotry 10 partsx "Wood 

Personal ambition 23 " I Hay 

Love of praise 19 " f and 

Pride of denomination ... 15 " ) Stubble." 

Pride of talent 14 " V 1 Cor. 3 : 

Love of authority 12 " / 10-16. 

Love to God 4 " ) ' w \ w HI m 

Love to man 3 " j Plire Zeal * 

100 

"The peculiar manner of the stranger troubled, even dis- 
tressed me. Ilis parting look oven haunted me, and his heart- 
searching words, 'Mai/ God save youV continued to ring in my 
ears — 1 could not get clear of them. Then I turned and looked 
at the figures given in his analysis of my zeal, and — my heart 
sank as lead within me. 

"My first impulse was to dispute the correctness of his 
analysis, but a second thought convinced me that such a 
protest on my part would be useless, for the divine Alchemist 
makes no mistakes. Then, too, I seemed to hear in the hall 
where the stranger disappeared a heavy sigh, as if from the 
heart of one sorrowing for me. Then I cried out — 

" 'Lord, save me! 1 

"And I fell on my knees, down by the chair, still holding 
the paper containing the analysis given me by the stranger. 
My eyes were fixed upon it, and at once that paper became 
a mirror in which I saw my heart reflected, and there it was 
as in plain daylight. The record the stranger had made of my 
zeal and inner life was true ! I saw it, I felt it, I confessed it, 
I deplored it, but what could I do — it was all true ! 

"Still on my knees, I besought God to have mercy upon 
me and for Jesus' sake to save me from myself and selfishness. 
I awoke, crying aloud, and the tears were streaming down my 
face. My bitter disappointment was terrible, but I had been 
humbled as by the hand of the Lord, and I was ready to look 
upon my life work from another standpoint — the glory of 
Christ, rather than my own glory ! 

"I had once prayed to be saved from hell, but my prayer to 
be saved from myself now was immeasurably more fervid, nor 
did I rest or pause till the refining fire came down and went 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 339 

through my heart, searching, probing, molting, burning, and 
filling all of its chambers with light, and hallowing my whole 
heart to God. II was indeed a memorable moment in my life 
and experience, a moment I hope never to forget ! 

"Now Christian service is a joy, and I am longing to do 
more and more in winning the world to Christ and in the 
building up of the Church. Now I am looking forward to the 
time when the toils of my pilgrimage shall be at an end, and 
then ,at the feet of Him who gave me this view of myself, I 
shall kneel and sing His praises and bless His name for the 
revelations of that day ! Even now I shout glory to His 
name V 9 



CXXIII— ENGAGED, OR MARRIED, WHICH? 

The answer to that question makes a great deal of 
difference. If only engaged, the future is not definitely 
settled, for in many instances an engagement is quickly 
broken off, but when the marriage vows have been 
sealed and it is no longer a mere love affair only, then 
it becomes the bridegroom and his bride, and the future 
is settled so far as their relations to one another and to 
society may be concerned — they are fully committed. 

So long as a love affair is only an engagement, 
others may come in and supplant the wooer, but when 
the marriage vow has been taken, then she is safe to the 
bridegroom and he has no fear of rivals — she is his and 
he is hers. 

That is much the way it is in the Christian life. 
There are many church members, which at best are no 
more than promised to Christ — a sort of an engagement 
to become His at some later date, but the many 
temptations which meet one in life makes it uncertain 
as to whether they will be true to their promise or not. 
The question I would impress upon every church mem- 
ber is this : Have you been wedded to Christ, has He 
become the Bridegroom of your soul, and have you 



340 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

become the Bride of His heart — has the wedding taken 
place? Have you a new and living experience in which 
you can truly say: "I am His and He is mine?" It 
is only when thus assured that you can always turn a 
deaf ear to the tempter and so remain true to your 
spiritual Husband. If some soul might in reading 
these simple lines be able to see his or her relationship 
to Christ, see that at best it has only been a sort of 
engagement between them, and then by the grace of 
God resolve that henceforth there shall be the closest 
intimacy and the sweetest life known in the great 
family of God, a new day would indeed dawn, and 
from that moment the uncertainties would be of the 
past. Out of such experience would come happiness 
and usefulness, the like of which had not before been 
known, and could be never known, in the engaged life. 

In Hos. 2 : 16, the Lord tells His people not to call 
Him Baal, (my lord) but Ishi, my Husband, and that is 
the difference! The two relationships are not to be 
compared — a lord may dominate my life by force, but a 
husband does the same thing by love — Jesus Christ is 
the Husband of the Church and so of each true believer, 
and He rules by LOVE. Do not stop with a mere 
spiritual engagement, but press on to the marriage 
hour and so have Jesus as the loving Husband of the 
soul ! 



CXXIV— THE RUSTY FAMILY HINGE. 

A rusty hinge is an enemy to quietude. Move the 
door, any way you please, and the response is a squeak 
from the hinge, and its noise is very trying on sensitive 
nerves. The door to my study squeaked. When people 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY .'Ml 

were asleep in the house I was reluctant to pass 
through the door, lest I wake up the sleeper. I myself 
complained of the ugly noise, when wife said: "Why 
not stop the noise ?" "How can I?" "Oh," said she, 
"just oil the hinge." At once I laid aside all other 
duties for the time and in less than ten minutes we 
had that door working admirably — not a squeaking 
sound was to be heard, even though you did nothing 
else but open and shut the door. The hinge had been 
cured of its disease — the power of the rust had been 
destroyed — the oil did it, and did it quickly. 

In almost every home there is a rusty family hinge 
— some one who is spiritually rusty, and whenever 
they are pushed the least bit, they squeak as if some 
serious evil had befallen them. A life rusty with sin 
is a w^orse squeaker than the old rusty hinge on the 
door. There was one comfort in the presence of the 
rusty door hinge, viz. : It could be cured, and oil 
would do it speedily. There is also one comfort when 
you stand in the presence of a rusty family hinge — 
it can be cured. If the person can be brought into 
right relations with God to the extent of receiving the 
gift of the Holy Spirit, then he may be cured easily 
and quickly. You see the gift of the Spirit is to the 
rusty family hinge just what oil was to the rusty door 
hinge. In fact oil is the symbol of the Spirit, and the 
symbolism is surely appropriate, for the coming into 
the life of man of the Holy Spirit does for old rusty 
family hinges just what real oil did for the rusty door 
hinge — cures them easily and quickly. The Holy 
Spirit thus does His work in the silent and beautiful 
manner of the oil curing the squeaking door hinge — 
it makes no fuss in its work, nor does the Spirit, but 
none the less does He do the work most effectively. 



342 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

You remember the ease of the ten virgins? (See 
Matt. 25:1-13.) Well, you will recall that five were 
classed as foolish. So far as I have ever been able to 
discover the difference between the two classes, it was 
simply a matter of having oil in the lamps and not 
having oil in the lamps. Those who had oil, lighted 
their lamps and went in to the marriage, but those who 
had no oil could not go in, for they must need go and 
seek oil, and while they went, the door was shut and 
they were left on the outside to mourn their misfortune 
in missing the wedding feast. Their lack of oil in this 
case clearly points to the two classes of Christians. 
One keeps filled with the Spirit, and the other does 
not. So it is, in the one life there is the beauty and 
glow of the divine presence, and in the other, there is 
the old rusty hinge squeaking every time you touch 
it, and the squeak is a complaint. What is the matter? 
Oh, it is clear enough — the fulness of the Spirit is 
lacking. I speak from experience. I have tried both 
sides. I know how beautifully we may be kept by the 
indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and I know 
what an awful squeaking is most likely to take place 
when the life is empty, the Spirit having been grieved 
away by too great fondness for the world and its follies. 
That is right! Paul urged the Thessalonians to grieve 
not the Spirit. He knew how serious the consequences 
might be. 

Xo wonder an old hinge squeaks when there is 
much rust and no oil. It is not one whit more strange 
that a Christian from whose life the Holy Spirit has 
been driven by sin in the heart should squeak every 
time it is disturbed. Does something go wrong in your 
life? There is a reason for it — it is hard to bear 
because you have no oil to make your life run smoothly. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 343 

As the rusty hinge needs oil to make it go well, so does 
your life need the Holy Spirit to make your way 
pleasant and fruitful. 

Hover o'er me, Holy Spirit, 
Bathe my trembling heart and brow ; 
Fill me with Thy hallowed presence. 
Come, Oh, come and fill me now ! 



GXXV— A MINGLE-MANGLE RELIGION. 

A new kind of religion surely, and yet it is quite 
old. It was practiced in the days of the kings of Israel 
and Judah. In 2 Kings 17 : 33, we read : 

"They feared the Lord, and served their own- gods" 

The people of Samaria had been a God-fearing and 
a God-serving people, but evil days had come— the 
natives had been carried away and many strange 
nations had found their way into that land. Under the 
few Israelites left there, they had learned of the God of 
Heaven — and there had been no little mixing between 
the peoples who had come together. These heathen 
peoples had their own gods whom they worshiped, but 
seeing the worship of Israel, they learned to fear the 
true God, and though they feared the God of the Jews, 
yet they did not give up their idols, so it came to pass 
that they learned to fear the God of Heaven, and yet 
they went on serving their own false gods. 

Of course their hearts were divided. They pro- 
fessed to fear God, but they served their own gods. A 
divided heart is a curse to any life. God asks for the 
heart, the whole heart. If we give it to Him, then we 
shall have peace and joy in His service, but if we fear 



THE MAN OF GREAT FAITH 




George Muller 



As to the future, if yet other trials and difficulties must come, our 
business is to keep the eye fixed on the Lord Jesus : 

He remains our Helper ; 
He remains our Lord ; 
He will never leave us ; 
He will never forsake us. 

Therefore, our business is just to pour out our hearts before Him, 
and help, in His own good time and way, is sure to come. 

George Muller. 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 345 

Him and then serve oilier gods, we cannoi expect any- 
thing but sorrow and disappointment. 

The people referred to in the quotation above have 
long since gone to their reward, but they have a 
multitude of successors, and they are all about us in 
daily life — people who fear the Lord because they are 
afraid of His displeasure, but that is all there is of 
their love for God — they fear Him, but go right on 
serving their own idol gods. You can always tell these 
people in modern times by certain signs which appear 
in their daily living, viz. : In their profession they fear 
God, but in their service they follow and worship idols, 
or at best become selfish and self centered. I can tell 
you how you may know them. 

When you see a person who reads the Bible purely 
as a duty, but reads the daily paper as a delight — they 
belong to the "mingle-mangle" crowd; or if they go ttf 
the prayer-meeting not at all, or at best only when they 
cannot get out of it, but delight to go to the theater, 
the card party, or the dance; or they stay at home 
from church because it is too warm, or too cold, or too 
wet, or too dry, but never find any weather so unsuit- 
able as to keep them from the amusements and business 
affairs of life ; or they feel it is a drudgery to serve God, 
while they find real delight in joining in the frolics of 
life; or if called upon to support the cause of Jesus 
Christ, by giving of their means, they growl and com- 
plain and declare that the preacher is working for the 
money, while they do not hesitate to spend large sums 
for luxury, or pleasure, or fashion. They give dollars 
for the ribbons of selfishness, but give only pennies, 
and sometimes they are given most unwillingly, for the 
cause of Christ. That is downright hypocrisy. If we 
profess to fear God, but go right on serving the gods of 



346 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

this world, then surely we are still in the gall of bitter- 
ness and in the bonds of iniquity, not knowing the 
Lord at all. 

The profession of religion in a godless life is a 
sham and a shame. A profession without a possession 
is hypocrisy of the most serious type. To all such God 
is saying: 

"Bring no more vain oblations to me/" 

If the life is all wrong, while the profession is 
good, I think God is saying to every one so serving 
Him: 

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto 
me?" 

To all people who have this "Mingle-mangle 
Religion," T think the Lord has the stirring message: 

"Wash you, make you clean, put a way the evil of your 
doings from mine eyes ; cease to do eril; learn to do Well!" 

A profession of faith without a life of service 
can avail nothing before God. A religion which will 
mix up with the world and all sorts of false religions 
is itself false and useless, a curse and a shame to the 
man who is its victim ! 



CXXVI— THE UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST. 

That is the meaning of the name of the last book 
of the New Testament — Revelation, or the Unveiling of 
Jesus Christ as He is to be seen all through the Church 
age. Many think of that book, not as the unveiling of 
Christ, but rather as the veiling of the Son of God, a 
veiling which is so dark that our keenest vision cannot 
get through it. However true it may be that much of 



EXPERIENCES ALONG THE WAY 347 

its bold imagery is beyond our comprehension, it is 
still true that the book is a treasure-house of good 
things for the child of God. At best much of its 
thought he may not grasp, but if he read carefully and 
prayerfully, earnestly seeking to be fed from Heaven, 
he will be blessed and spiritually enriched, and there- 
fore the more ready and the better prepared to go on 
his way rejoicing in the life and service of his Master. 

How do we know all this? The book itself tells 
us. It contains a specific promise to this effect, 
specifying that every one who reads, or even hears, 
its message and keeps it, shall be blessed. The promise 
is very plain. It reads: 

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the ivords 
of this prophecy, and keep those things ichich are written 
therein: for the time is at hand.'" — Rev. 1:3. 

Some have made the mistake of reading that 
promise so as to make it include only the reading or 
the hearing of the message of that book. The promise 
is to such as may read and such as may hear and keep 
the truths of that message. To hear a truth uttered 
and then pay no further attention to it could not bring 
any blessing. Read it, or hear it, and then keep its 
teachings — that completes the circle of the statement, 
and nothing short of that will bring the promised 
blessing. Read it, or hear it, and then obey it. 

Years ago I learned to love the book of Revelation, 
not that I pretend to understand it all, but that I can 
grasp some of its thought and appropriate it to the 
nourishment of my inner life. It has therefore inspired 
my life in its larger vision and service. I would 
lovingly persuade you to read this book as if searching 
for hid treasures. To do this you have much to encour- 



348 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

age jour desire and to stimulate your faith in the fact 
that so many have been blessed and helped in the study 
of the book. If in faith and prayer you diligently seek 
to get its meaning, God will give you visions of truth 
and the riches of grace and make your life more after 
the image of His Son, a prospect by no means to be 
despised or lightly regarded. Such a blessing has 
been promised and God will make the promise good. 
Do not neglect the Book of the Unveilings of Jesus 
Christ 

Revelation is full of symbols. If you can got the 
meaning of the symbols you get the meaning of the 
book in a large measure. When reading that book", 
remember that — 

s hit's are ministers, it may be of Church or State, 
or both. 

Candlesticks arc churches, or congregations of 
believers. 

Ilea mi in this book is supposed generally to refer 
to God's kingdom among men — not the third Heaven, 
the Throne of God. 

Woman is the type of the Church, or any organized 
body of Christians. 

The Sun is a type of a King, or his Kingdom, an 
imperial power. 

Moon is a type of some weaker power, such as a 
minor king. 

Four beasts mean four living creatures, repre- 
senting the glorified saints of high rank in the King- 
dom of grace and glory. 

Smoke represents prayer or blasphemy. When 
used in a good sense it means prayer. When used in a 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE \\ \) 349 

bad sense, blasphemy. A sweet fragrani smoke, or 
incense, is a type of the prayers of God's servants. 

Fowls typify demons or evil spirits. Jesus, you 
remember, said the fowls of the air picked up the gj*ain 
that had been sown by the wayside. In the parable of 
the Church he represents it as a mustard plant, grow- 
ing so large that the fowls of the air lodged in it. 

Waters represent the souls of men. The woman 
sitting on many waters is supposed to be a symbol of 
the Church of Rome seeking to control the souls of the 
people in all nations. 

Muddy waters represent sin as manifested in the 
life of the people. 

Clear waters represent the pure and the holy souls 
as cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. 

The Sea is a type of the heathen world. In Rev. 
21 : 1, we read : "And there shall be no more sea" — 
that is, no more heathen peoples, referring to the time 
when the gospel shall have accomplished its mission 
to the world. 

The Man-child refers to Jesus who is to rule with 
power the hearts of men and women. 

Red Dragon is a type of an evil power, working in 
the interest of the devil's kingdom. 

The Horse is a type of some swift and organized 
power. 

The White Horse is the symbol of the aggressive 
spread of the gospel among all peoples. 

The Red Horse is a type of opposition to Jesus in 
some organized form, as in the persecution of the 
Church and the bloodshed of the saints. 



350 FORTY YEARS ON THE FIRING LINE 

The Black Horse is the type of superstition and 
ignorance, as in the dark ages, and possibly at other 
times in the history of the Church. 

The Pale Horse is supposed to be a type of a 
ghastly life, as in the backsliding of great bodies of 
Christians, such as the Church of Rome. 

Winds represent the workings of great powers — of 
evil, or of good, such as heresies, delusions, and great 
tribulations among men, or of the Spirit of God, as in 
John 3:8. 

Vials typify the outpourings of God's wrath on the 
wicked nations for their sins. 

Frogs mean evil spirits, going forth in the dark- 
ness of sin to work the works of the evil one. It may 
especially refer to the work of the evil one in seeking 
to lead the Church of Christ to embrace error, such as 
Spiritualism, Christian Science, Russellism, Theoso- 
phy, Babism, Mormonism, and others of like tenden- 
cies. 

A Pure River is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. See 
John 7:38, 39. 

The Tree of Life is a type of Jesus Christ, the 
Life-Giver. 

Now when you read the book of Revelation keep 
in mind these meanings as types and symbols, and you 
may get much help where otherwise you might read as 
one beating the air — getting nothing! 



"By all ye will or whisper, by all ye leave or do, 
The sullen, silent peoples will weigh your God and you." 

— Kipling, 



EXPERIENCES ALONQ THE WAY 

A FAILURE AND THE CAUSE 

We were journeying. The way had its perils. The hills 
wore high and the valleys were deep, but our automobile was 
supposed to be equal to the task, — it was called "the hill 
climber." Its speed was good. We were surprised at its power 
in the beginning of the journey, but we were more surprised at 
its weakness before we reached our destination. Suddenly it 
seemed in a struggle to ascend a hill. A bit later and it stood 
still ere it reached the top of the ridge. It had to be helped. 
Its occupants got out and pushed. Later yet, and on a level, it 
came to a standstill and would not move. The driver sought 
the cause of its refusal to move, but in vain. An expert came 
along. He said, "Examine the 'spark plug' — you will likely find 
some foreign substance has gathered about it so that it cannot 
pass the spark that gives the power." The "spark plug" was 
removed, and behold, it was covered in a lint which had 
destroyed the power of the machine. The lint was removed 
and the plug replaced, and at once the automobile moved off: as 
a thing of life. 

That put me to thinking. I recalled some such "capers" 
in human life — a time when all Christian effort and devotion 
simply ceased to be, and the life stood still. We were all 
amazed. What could be the trouble? Why did that Christian 
man stop his good work? Why did he stop family prayers? 
Why did he quit his daily reading of the Bible? Why did he 
become so cold-hearted and indifferent to the interests of the 
Master's Kingdom? For the same reason that the automobile 
failed — sin had gathered about the heart and paralyzed its 
power. Brother, Sister, have you had such an experience? 
Let Jesus clean the "spark plug," clean your heart and life of 
sin, and like the automobile, you will have power at once to 
do the service to which you have been called. 

"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God 
and your sins have hid His face from you" — 

And Your Power Is Gone! 




The Christian's Time of Day. 



